Under Construction Part III: God Bless America or America, Bless God?

This particular sermon was delivered last Sunday, June 29th, in view of the upcoming July 4th celebration, and is actually a transition sermon, leading into a series on Christianity and Patriotism.

My baby girls are a vibrant joy in my life. My oldest, who is now 2 & 1/2, wakes up in the morning with deep emotion, emphatically exclaiming, "Daddy, I missed you!" How can your heart not simply melt. When I consider the many reasons why I am proud to be an American, this is certainly one of those many reasons. I want for a place where she can grow up in relatively safety and security. As many of you know, I served in the Marine Reserves, but was trained as a "normal" Marine. At the end of our training we were presented with our fist Marine symbol, the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor. In the background Lee Greenwood's "I'm Proud to Be an American" was playing and our drill instructors were filing through our ranks presenting our EGAs to us. It just so happened my favorite drill instructor presented me with mine and said, "Daniel, Congratulations, Marine." There wasn't a dry eye in our midst. I carry with me a key chain that has the EGA and the motto, "Semper Fidelis" (always faithful) on one side and the flag raising over Iwa Jima with the pronouncement "Uncommon Valor Was a Common Virtue" on the other.

As I presented this sermon this past Sunday, I stood before those people, and write this for you, very proud of my country. Just like you cannot remove my Marine heritage from me; you cannot remove what it means to be an American from me. They are part and parcel to who I am, and am very appreciative of the culture I've inherited from both.

Now having said all of that, since I am a devoted follower of Jesus Christ before anything else, I must ask myself the following question from time to time about my country and patriotism. I urge all of you to do the same.

Question: Where does our primary loyalty and allegiance belong?

1. God


2. God & Country


3. Country

Now while we might give knee jerk reactions to this question and might even get offended at our being asked, this question is not meant to be answered lightly. This question is one in which we must wrestle around with on a regular basis.

At one time we could take for granted that those who crafted what it meant to be an American for everyone else could be depended upon to do their crafting from a Judeo-Christian framework. Certainly, no one is perfect and mistakes have been made. But it certainly is beyond dispute, at least in my opinion, that in yesteryear the decision and policy makers subscribed to a basic Judeo-Christian frame work. Certainly this was true in the first days of the Republic, for over 99% of the American people were self-described Christian.

Taking a look at some Census data from a table known as "Self-Described Religious Identification of Adult Population: 1990 and 2001," (http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/tables/08s0074.pdf) we see that the religious picture of the Republic is quite different. In 1990 there were 175,440,000 adults in the US. In 2001 there were 207,980,000 adults in the US. However the total number of self-described Christians rose from 151,496,000 to a whopping 159,506,000. Needless to say that the adult Christian population did not rise at nearly the same rate as the general adult population. Keep in mind this Christian self-designation includes some questionable groups, such as the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses.

Is it possible to say that the movers and shakers in Washington, DC, Atlanta, Raleigh, New York, Sacramento, etc are less likely to adhere to a Judeo-Christian framework than yesteryear? Let's take a look at a couple of other surveys, both by The Barna Group of Ventura, CA.

In a surveys of Church attendance (http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=Topic&TopicID=10) Barna Research found in 2005 47% of adults attended church on a given weekend that was not a special occasion. 50% of women were likely to attend a regular weekend service (2006). Whereas only 44% of men were likely to do so. 54% of Midwesterners, 51% of Southerners, 41% of those from the Northeast, and 39% of those from the West were likely to attend a regular worship service on the weekend.

Here are a couple of questions:

• Are all people in this country Christian? Given the above survey of Church attendance it is highly unlikely.
• Are all the above people who go to Church ... even regularly ... Christian? This is quite unlikely.

In surveys of the unchurched (http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=Topic&TopicID=38) Barna Research found a 92% increase of unchurched people in this country in the last 13 years from 39 million in 1991 to 75 million in 2004. In 2006 men were a larger unchurched group than women at 55%. The unchurched live throughout the country, making up 43% of the Western population, 40% of the Northeastern population, and 28% of the populations in the South and the Midwest (2006). Interestingly enough 62% of unchurched adults consider themselves to be Christian (2006). 44% of unchurched adults claim to have made personal commitments to Jesus Christ and still find that commitment important today (2006).

Here are a couple of questions:

• Are all of the movers and shakers in the power centers of our country only going to come from the churched group? No, it is highly unlikely.
• Who are most of the decision makers in the power centers of our country today ... right or wrong? It is men ... a larger unchurched group than women.
• Besides this is it a guarantee that simply because someone goes to church and claims to be Christian that they will possess a Scriptural world view? No, of course not.
• Lastly, is it possible for some in our country to think they are Christian ... simply because they are Americans? In other words do they define their "Christianity" by commonly held American values? I think this is very likely and very dangerous, because not only are many of these people likely be political influencers in our society, they are also just as likely to be theological influencers in our churches.

If you think the last question is a bit weird, consider the Marines' Hymn ... something along with the national anthem and Lee Greenwood's "I'm Proud to Be an American" resonate deep within my heart.

The Marines' Hymn

Verse 1

From the Halls of Montezuma

To the shores of Tripoli;

We fight our country’s battles

On the land as on the sea;

First to fight for right and freedom

And to keep our honor clean;

We are proud to claim the title

Of United States Marine.

Verse 2

Our flag’s unfurled to every breeze

From dawn to setting sun;

We have fought in ev’ry clime and place

Where we could take a gun;

In the snow of far-off Northern lands

And in sunny tropic scenes;

You will find us always on the job

The United States Marines

Verse 3

Here’s health to you and to our Corps

Which we are proud to serve;

In many a strife we’ve fought for life

And never lost our nerve;

If the Army and the Navy

Ever look on Heaven’s scenes;

They will find the streets are guarded

By United States Marines.

(from http://www.marineband.usmc.mil/learning_tools/library_and_archives/resources_and_references/marines_hymn.htm)

Consider the third verse. While most of us will readily smile and laugh at the friendly jab towards the other branches of our armed forces, the third verse captures the point of the previous question: Is it possible that some in our country consider themselves to be Christian simply because they're American? Does being a Marine automatically guarantee a duty spot in Heaven?

Here is the ultimate point. In yesteryear we could take for granted that our movers and shakers held to a basic Christian world view. In other words, those who crafted what it meant to be an American did so out of a Biblical world view. Today, that is no longer the case. If we're not careful, we might well say that we're proud to be something that is anti-Christian.

Am I patriotic? You better believe it, but my patriotism is held with eyes wide open, with constant vigilance. In other words I don't take things for granted. Blind patriotism is one of the several factors that led the German population, which was mostly Christian, to shout, "Heil Hitler." In our day and time we cannot afford blind patriotism.

Patriotism can be a glue, holding a people together. Patriotism can be a virtue, propelling people to self-sacrifice for their neighbors and posterity. Patriotism for believers can be a way to worship God for his marvelous provisions for their peace and safety. Patriotism, for believers, may also simply be their prosperity thrown into Aaron's fire ... out of which pops a calf wearing red, white, and blue.

Consider the words of the Apostle Paul:

Colossians 1:15-20

He (Jesus Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of god was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth of in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (ESV)

This is of course describing our Lord Jesus Christ. If we are serious about our Christianity, we must be serious about this passage, especially two points.

• He is before all things
• That in everything he might be preeminent

Those are absolutes and non-negotiables. However, my concern is not an overt trashing of these ideals. Rather, I'm concerned about what our actions and attitudes might be communicating, whether we know it or not. For example if we are serious about Jesus being Lord over all, then why do we say the Pledge of Allegiance in our worship services before the Pledge to the Christian flag and the Bible? (as is commonly done during "patriotic" services and Vacation Bible School) Why do we pledge our allegiance to a state in any service at all, where we are supposed to be pledging allegiance to our Lord through our worship ... where he is supposed to be the focal point of our worship?

I'm all for being patriotic, but lets be very careful about what we're pledging our love and devotion to. Let's be very careful that the objects of our love and devotion do not steal the worship due only to Jesus as Lord.