The Christian icon is not the Stars and Stripes but a cross-flag, and its emblem is not a donkey, an elephant, or an eagle, but a slaughtered lamb – Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw, in Jesus for President
No one can serve two masters – Jesus, Matthew 6:24
I said it for years. It was second nature. In school, in Boy Scouts, in public assemblies. When we were told to rise and place our hands over our hearts and recite the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, it was second nature. It was what you were supposed to do. It was the patriotic and respectful thing to do. And so for years I did it, never questioning the practice.
But as the years passed by and, more importantly, as I grew more in my relationship with Jesus, saying the pledge made me uncomfortable.
Two reasons.
The first is that I came to understand myself to be a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20). Specifically of the restored world that will come when Jesus returns and brings heaven into the real world. That will be a world without borders. In the meantime, I am a stranger and alien without a country on earth (see, Hebrews 11:13; John 17:16; 1 Peter 2:11). The only sense in which I have citizenship in this present age of the world is my citizenship in the Kingdom of God. And that, already, is a transnational kingdom without borders, made of people from every nation, language, and tribe.
Secondly, there is the most basic confession of Christianity: Jesus is Lord. Jesus is the one to whom I owe my life. He is the only one who is worthy (Revelation 5). The only one before whom all kings and nations will one day bow (Philippians 2:11). (You do know that when that happens, America will cease to exist, don’t you?). I owe my allegiance to him and him alone. Jesus said you cannot serve two masters. The early Christians took that at face value. The historical record of the first few centuries of Christianity shows that many preferred to die (and did) rather than pledge allegiance to Caesar and Rome. Moreover I’ve seen what can happen when Christians try to serve both God and country, when they try to claim Jesus as Lord while pledging allegiance to a nation. Such duality of allegiance leads to a loss of focus, a syncretistic faith at best and idolatry at worst. In America, it has created a nationalistic form of Christianity Jesus never intended. One in which the Lamb has been wedded to elephants and/or donkeys, and is usually treated as the submissive partner. This has led to the propagation of a false Gospel that has distorted the Church’s witness to the world.
At the same time I know that there are certain responsibilities everyone has by virtue of being a member of the society in which they live. The Bible indeed confirms this. For example, I must seek the welfare of my society (Jeremiah 29:7). I am to pray for its well-being and for its leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-4). I am to show those leaders a measure of respect even in the face of deep and justifiable disagreement (1 Peter 2:17 – this doesn’t mean being a yes man who remains silent in the face of injustice or evil leaders. God’s people have always been commissioned to speak truth to power and confront evil wherever and whenever it abounds. But they must do so respectfully and peaceably, never violently or destructively). I am also to be respectful of civil authority and obey the laws of my country so long as they do not contradict God’s commands (Romans 13:1; Acts 5:29). In the event of conflict, God’s commands must be followed, and I may therefore need to engage in civil disobedience as a witness to truth in the hope that my leaders and nation might turn to the truth. Nonetheless I must remain respectful and peaceful as I do so. (There’s a catch here of course, the powers that be, as well as those in cahoots with them, will never consider any criticism respectful, and will therefore accuse me of violating the very principles I just cited. But I cannot worry about that. I figure acting and speaking like Jeremiah and other prophets puts you on good ground in terms of being respectful in Gods eyes as you speak truth to power, so I’ll go with that approach). These are my duties as a Christ follower living in the world in its present state. I must always act in love and seek the best for the ‘city’ in which I live.
But such duty does not negate the fact that I am a citizen of heaven with a higher loyalty to a Higher King. Indeed the very verses I have cited emphasize the truth that as I seek the best for the place in which I live I must maintain my full allegiance to my True King. And this is the reason why I find it impossible to pledge allegiance to any flag or republic for which it stands. No flag is synonymous with the cross, and no republic is synonymous with the Kingdom of God. A Pledge is a solemn oath of loyalty, and allegiance connotes an absolute loyalty. To take a pledge is even in a sense a religious act. It is a promise of unwavering, unyielding fealty to a concept or ideal that is higher than oneself.
I cannot make such a promise to anyone or anything other than Jesus and his Kingdom. For me, as it was for the early Church, it feels idolatrous. It feels like a betrayal of my True King and Kingdom. It feels like an attempt to serve two masters. If I were to say the pledge, I’d have to do it with my proverbial fingers crossed. I wouldn’t really mean it. And I’d feel pretty darn lousy about that. It would honor neither my King nor the republic in which I live.
And so I no longer say the pledge of allegiance. Haven’t for years.
Most of the time, this is not a problem. I don’t go to school anymore, and I am no longer in Boy Scouts, so the pledge doesn’t come up a lot. But still, from time to time, I find myself in situations where the pledge is recited. What do I do then? How do I balance my need to maintain absolute fidelity to my Lord with the obligation to be respectful to the civil authorities under which I live while seeking what is best for my society? Well, this is what I have come up with. While everyone else says the pledge, I silently pray. I pray to acknowledge that Jesus is my Lord. I ask him to help me live as a faithful citizen of his Kingdom. I pray for wisdom for our leaders; that they come to, and act in accordance with, the saving knowledge of God. And I pray for the welfare of the world, country, state, and town in which I live. That righteousness and justice will reign. That I can be an instrument of welfare and peace. And that the people of my ‘city’ who do not already do so will one day pledge allegiance to the world’s True King.
I’m sure that doesn’t satisfy everyone. I’m sure it ticks some people off. But I’m not trying to satisfy people.
I’m trying to satisfy my King.
The King to whom I have already pledged my allegiance.
Under Christ’s Mercy,
Brent