Christian Living

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I was born in the twenties to a typical American family: freedom-loving, flag-waving, bands playing--steeped in the Yankee Doodle Dandy version of war and Christianity. Father in WWI, husband in WWII and grandson in Desert Storm: the definition of American patriotism, accepted and unexamined in the light of the Prince of Peace and His teachings. It is always dangerous to march in locked step for long periods of time. It is why lemmings end up at the bottom of the cliff. Growth demands a constant re-evaluation of the facts, and results in the courage to change.

The unexamined and unblinking acceptance of the above description of American patriotism nearly always gives way to nationalism which usurps God's way in our lives. We slip almost unconsciously into buying into the myth that the United States has received a special dispensation above other nations. So strong is this myth that we cease to examine it in light of Scripture--and stray dangerously far from Christian precepts before we even realize it.

Living in this dichotomy became a little uncomfortable for me during the Vietnam War (the justification seemed a little fuzzy), and came full-blown with the pre-emptive invasion of Iraq. There was a line in the sand I could no longer ignore. I had to stop dead still and exaqmine who I was, Whose I was, and what kind of double standard I was trying to follow. I came up with the highly uncomfortable realization that I was holding contradictory views: hypocritical to say the least--dishonest in reality.

Finally I must leave the comfortable haven of nationalism, "just" wars, America first last and always, right or wrong, and step into the larger arena of the world that God loved so much He gave His Son to pay the sin debt of us all. For the rest of my life, with the Spirit's guidance, I will be a Christian first with citizenship in this world or anything else a far distant second. If Christ's Kingdom were of this world, then would we fight--but it isn't, and neither are we.

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