When Patriotism Interferes with Spiritual Growth

I am a patriotic guy. I love the United States of America. I catch myself in long conversations with others about her, where she seems to be going, and what that will mean to all of us and the generations that will follow.

But I am first and foremost a disciple of Jesus Christ. I’m realizing more and more that we sometimes forget that our first allegiance is to God’s Kingdom and that, in the end His Kingdom will prevail. We are “not of this world” and so we are to keep our minds “set on things above not earthly things.” Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a sin to care about elections or to keep up with what’s going on on the political scene. In fact, we should all vote and we should study the issues and the candidates so that we can make an educated decision. But it is downright spiritually debilitating to be more passionate about our country than Jesus Christ.

In your small group you probably have people who could talk politics all day long. Those same people lean forward and the volume rises when discussing the next election or some decision being made by the Executive branch. They’re asking you if you’ve read some blog post or seen in the paper or watched the news so that you are aware of a particular issue being discussed in Washington D.C. You receive emails from them telling you the latest political news or they send petitions your way, petitions they believe “every person who cares about this country” needs to sign. But when you talk about Jesus and His Word they clam up and you seldom if ever get an email with a scripture passage on it or a statement from something they read in their quiet time. It’s obvious that they have given more of their heart to their country than to their Jesus. If they were to do a serious check on their hearts, the cross for them looks much like a donkey or an elephant as they are more passionate about a political party than Jesus Himself. Don’t beat them up, don’t be angry with them, they probably don’t even realize this is true of them. But it may be important to point this out to them. Serving two masters is impossible and a Christian disciple can only follow fully one person, Jesus Christ. Until they have as their deepest passion Jesus and the gospel their spiritual growth will forever be stalled.

You may be asking yourself… Will Howerton shoot off fireworks, celebrate our independence, watch Saving Private Ryan to remember the sacrifices made for this country? I will. I am a patriotic guy, a pretty old-fashioned conservative fella in love with his country, even concerned about his country. But I am learning that I cannot allow my allegiance to Jesus to be interrupted by my passion for my country.