God and Country

I recently had a "discussion" with a friend regarding the place (or, in my mind, the lack thereof) of American nationalism in the Church. 

This all came up as I stated my general frustration with having to sit through a rousing piano interlude of America the Beautiful at a local Baptist church, complete with stirring imagery of flags and people saluting, etc.  This viscerally offends me.  It is the reason I will probably never return to said church.  And now, as I have always been better equipped at defining my thoughts in written form, I will attempt to explain myself. 

God doesn't say much about Country in the Bible, not about loving it at least.  We are directed in Paul's Letter to Titus that we should obey authorities and the rule of law.  Jesus states in Mark, "Render to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." And this is Caesar we're talking about.  Jesus directs his followers to respect the authority of a dictator.  And I don't think this should cause anyone any extreme heartburn.  The Bible often provides guidance that is, largely, practical in its significance.  Christ's message was one of Grace and Eternity, getting hung up on whether you had to pay Caesar's taxes had to have been at least mildly exasperating (although, Jesus was perfect and therefore patient...but still...that question deserved exasperation).  Regardless of whether we voted for our leader, we're supposed to respect his authority above us.  We don't have to like it, we don't have to agree with it, but respecting it is not too much to ask.  And as it was a direction from Christ, maybe we should refrain from discarding that direction just because we don't like who's in office.

God does not tell us to love our Country.  Nope. He tells us to love our Neighbor.  Period.  He tells us to go out into the world and share the Gospel with the world.  And the world is not limited to the 50 states of America. Nationalism bothers me in the spiritual context because it builds fences around the Great Commission.  It makes us feel that our salvation, our pains, are somehow worth more to God than those of every other child of His on this planet.  It's self-serving, it's prideful, and it's sinful.  I don't think there's anything wrong with loving one's country, both my grandfathers risked their lives for it and they also happen to be two of the most Godly men I've been blessed to know.  But I take issue when love of country becomes akin to worship.  I think it dances very close to idolatry and in God's house (and anywhere), God is the only authority we should ever worship.

To bring Country into Church simply lessens God, and that should offend every Christian.  It makes God small, makes God compete for the stirrings of our heart.  Our hearts should be directed to His glory, spreading His glory, loving His children (every. single. one. of. them.), and pursuing a life that makes His grace apparent in our lives. 

America is beautiful.  And that's a lovely song and a lovely sentiment.  But there is nothing, absolutely nothing, eternal about our country.  The Church would do well to answer the Great Commission with an anthem that provides no lines of demarcation, no territories, no barriers beyond belief.  Amazing Grace would do nicely.