Why It's Good (and Christian) to Love Your Country
Healthy patriotism isn't antithetical to faithful Christian witness
When I was about ten or twelve, our family packed up our Chevy station wagon and drove from the suburbs of Chicago to Washington, D.C. My mother planned this entire trip, well before the Internet made these things much easier. We stopped in Gettysburg and toured the battlefield there before rambling into the nation’s capital.
When I look back on this trip, I often wonder what motivated my parents. I think my mother always wanted to see the monuments and museums. But more than that, I think my parents wanted to instill in their children an appreciation for America. Our family was pretty patriotic. We had lively conversations about politics and news as we sat around the dinner table. This trip, though, kindled in me a new level of love for America that hasn’t gone away. I remember standing in awe at the Lincoln Memorial, reflecting at that young age about the immense burden of leadership born by one of our greatest Presidents.
Since then, we’ve taken our family on similar trips. A few years ago, we were at Yorktown, where the ragtag American forces beat back the British navy. I marveled then and still marvel now at the fact that this radical experiment in human government is still here, nearly 250 years later.
Patriotism has become increasingly unpopular in recent years. A new survey shows that pride in America is at a historic low. I believe there are a few factors at work here. America has endured struggles over the last few decades, including failed wars, economic recessions, and corruption in government. We’ve also had a few generations who have been taught a view of our history that only sees American sins—which are many—and will not see American virtue. Lastly, I think there is also a baseline of ingratitude. Having been given much, many of us cannot recognize our own prosperity and freedom because all we see is what we don’t have or what we wish we had.
American Christians have also been pretty angsty about patriotism. In the last few years, many academics, journalists, and even some pastors have equated any love for the country with idolatry or worse, fascism and theocracy. So many well-meaning American Christians have shied away from expressions of patriotism because they don’t want to engage in false worship.
There is a way to put the country over the cross. Jonah, for example, is an example of extreme nationalism. He refused to go to Nineveh because he didn’t see Israel’s enemies as human, and he didn’t want God’s saving faith to reach these people. This temptation exists today. We can love our country so much that we don’t love the nations like God loves the nations (Matthew 28, Revelation 5,7)/ Yet not all patriotism is idolatry. I think properly ordered patriotism is an outgrowth of healthy Christian discipleship.
In Jeremiah 29, the prophet told the exiles in Babylon that even though they were exiles—citizens of another kingdom—they were to “build and plant” to “marry and have children” and, most importantly, to seek the “welfare” or “flourishing” of Babylon. Faithful Christians see themselves, first and foremost, as citizens of Heaven. But like the exiles in Jeremiah’s day, we too should seek the welfare of the cities and nations where God has called us. Let me ask you, can you obey this word from God if you loathe your country? Will you see the flourishing of a nation about which you are ambivalent? I don’t think so.
We mistakenly believe that by loving God first, we can’t have lesser, but also important allegiances. I have often heard Christians recoil at pledging allegiance to the American flag. “I can only pledge allegiance to Christ,” they’ll say. But we can have lesser commitments that are subordinated to our highest commitment to God. If God is first in our lives, it allows us to fulfill our other commitments more faithfully.
Almost 23 years ago, I pledged allegiance to my wife. I stood before an altar, in front of a pastor and hundreds of witnesses, and said to her, “I do.” I didn’t say, “I can’t do this because Jesus is the only one I say, “I do’ to. No. Because I’m committed to Christ, I’m committed to being a faithful husband to my wife.
We know this kind of ordering instinctively, and we follow it down to the routine and ordinary promises we make. Every month, my cell phone provider expects payment. I’ve “pledged allegiance”, in a sense, to Verizon. And to the mortgage company and the electric utility, etc.
Now those allegiances can get disordered. If I choose my employer over my family or my mortgage over going to church, well, I’ve got a problem. But it’s a problem of ordering.
Which means that because we worship Jesus, we are free to love the place where God has allowed us to be born. We are free to feel a sense of pride at seeing the American flag. We are free to appreciate the sacrifices made by so many who have enabled us to live in prosperity and freedom. We are free to listen to this awesome rendition of our national anthem by Chris Stapleton and let a tear run down our cheek.
Patriotism, of course, is not the same as cheering on every policy made by our government. Sometimes patriotism requires us to oppose certain policies, to be active in ensuring the next generation is handed a country as good as the one we enjoyed.
In many ways, it’s simple gratitude. So, this 4th of July, love your country.
BTW, if you liked this reflection on patriotism, you might be interested in a new book I have entitled, In Defense of Christian Patriotism, releasing this fall from Broadside Books. It’s super early, but you can pre-order now.