Daily Verse | Job 20:4-5
“Surely you know how it has been from old, ever since man was placed on the earth, that the mirth of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment.”

Hello Broadside friends. It’s mid-week and day two of the sixth month of America under siege. Fortunately, bell bottoms are back in style.

One of the things that I often ponder is whether a Christian can also be a patriot, that is, a person who loves his or her country. For instance, I am a bible-believing, Christ-following evangelical Christian. I am also a proud American citizen who was born and bred in these United States.

I admire our Founding Fathers. I think the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution (along with the Federalist and Anti-Federalist papers) are brilliant documents. The system of government we have, with its three branches that check and balance each other, was created with a wise understanding of human nature.

I am proud of our capitalist economy which allows our citizens to flourish and prosper. I am proud of the good we have done in the world, including the war that ended slavery. Or the heft we contributed to defeating the Axis in World War II, and then rebuilding Japan — our mortal enemy! — after the war. I am proud of the modern medicine, technologies, arts and entertainments, and breakthroughs we have accomplished as a nation, like putting a man on the moon.

Most of all, I love the freedom we have to live responsible lives without government interference (although that is being severely tested these days).

So I am both a Christian and a proud American.

In that order.

I have to consciously not conflate the two or to allow my affection for America to displace my first love. I love my country, yes, but my ultimate allegiance is to the God of heaven.

That was brought home to me recently as I studied the first chapter of John’s gospel and was reflecting on verses 35-37:

The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.

In those days, a “disciple” followed a rabbi because the rabbi was authorized to interpret God’s Word for living a righteous life. Being interested in living such a life, the disciple agreed to a complete submission to the interpretive authority of their rabbi in his life. He was “all in.”

In this case, John the Baptist has disciples, but when he announces “the Lamb of God,” two of his disciples leave him to follow Jesus. That caused me to wonder if there were things I was a “disciple” of in life that I needed to stop “following” in order to be fully surrendered to the work of Christ. That question, in turn, got me to thinking about my interest in politics, my patriotism, and the amount of time that I spend reading and writing about the political (mis)fortunes of the United States.

I currently believe that you can have an affection for your country and can be patriotic, but it’s a matter of degree. Equate being an American with being a Christian? No, that’s going too far. Willing to salute the flag and defend the U.S. from all enemies, foreign and domestic? As long as your allegiance to the flag doesn’t displace your allegiance to God, yes.

I’m thinking out loud here and have only drawn tentative conclusions. But surrendering my love of America and pride in my nationality might be required of me as I seek to follow more closely the life of my Savior.