Have we gone too far?

July 4th is around the corner (exactly 4 days from today). I begin to see the guys in the make shift trailers in grocery store parking lots selling firecrackers. I think of lots of food, explosions, community, fun and parades.
I know that July 4th is a celebration: a celebration of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, of our independence from Great Britain. I remember as a kid, getting to volunteer, as a boy scout on a military base, in Oklahoma and meeting Lee Greenwood. I am certainly "proud to be an American", but have we gone too far in idolizing being American or patriotism? Before people get all up in arms, I am proud to be in this country, and more thankful for the lives that have given me this freedom but since when has it been tied to Scripture? I feel like in Christian circles being patriotic and Christian have blurred lines. Hence lay my frustration with the way Christians act toward govt. and elected officials (see my Christians and Govt. post). A very good article on this is in the new Relevant magazine. It was written by Greg Boyd and he ventures into areas I have already discussed by focuses his point on the Idolatry of Patriotism.

One important problem he identifies is that, "we have believed the pagan lie that God uniquely favors their country and that their national enemies are God's enemies"

Does God bless America sound about right? In no way am I asking God to NOT bless America but why can't God bless other countries? No country represents God, they represent the people in it! Even in the nation of Israel 65% of Jews say they believe in God, and this is liberal number.
The great part about heaven is that it is made of so many different kinds of people with their SOLE ALLEGIANCE to Jesus Christ! Remember our job is pray, to lift up, encourage, and most importantly submit to the governing authorities (regardless of what kind of government it is!!). It is okay to proud of where you come from but we can't forget our priorities: the kingdom! Boyd says that if "we become too invested in our nation, we can forget our REAL citizenship is in heaven."
I have actually had conversations with people who believed if you weren't American you weren't Christian. I have had the conversation that if your American your Christian!!! How crazy is this?

The danger in investing too much can also be that,"rather than manifesting the distinctive values of the Kingdom of God, we can begin to assume the ideals of our culture are kingdom values."

Finally I think Boyd brings a great example into the light of the phrase, "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." These concepts are found no where in Scripture. First you already have life (John 3), you have liberty (Gal. 5:1) and the pursuit of happiness isn't something that you can truly pursue outside of Christ.

Our goal as believers is to reach people for Christ, our goal is to provide the good news of redemption, reconciliation, and renewal, and our allegiance is first and foremost to Jesus Christ. So during this 4th of July, celebrate, have fun, but remember where your allegiance lies.

For further reading on the kingdom a great book is Graeme Goldsworthy's: Goldsworthy trilogy: Gospel and Kingdom
Here it is on Amazon click here

If you would like to read the Boyd article click here
Be Blessed