Conflicted Allegiance
This may be old news to you, but today I stumbled across a new Bible that is being released called “God Bless the USA Bible.” Alongside the NIV translation is a copy of the United States’ Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the song lyrics with which this Bible is inspired - “God Bless the U.S.A.”
The creator of this Bible claims this wasn’t intended to be a political move based on current events, but “to show children who are not adequately taught about these things, how these things come together.” “These things” meaning the Bible and the political documents of our nation; two things which were never meant to be compared and do not have equal standing or meaning.
The Constitution was made to be the law of our land. It is made up of principles by which a nation of people are governed. That’s it. The Bible is the highest law given to humankind. Combining these documents is problematic on so many levels, with the most disastrous of them being the conflation of opposing powers. If God’s word is cast beside political documents what will happen when conflict arises between the two (because they undoubtedly will)? Which will have the final authority? And if your answer is “both,” may I remind you that the most dangerous collaboration in the history of the world was when the institution of religion and politics held hands in their work to crucify Jesus. Tying corrupted and imperfect worldly systems with the name of God will always kill religion by advancing the nation-state (which is always always always a symbol of power/empire that God stood in direct opposition to).
Personal rights are culturally a huge focus right now, and while I believe that the autonomy our rights preserve for us are a direct gift of the consent God Himself has given us, I also recognize that as believers we cannot forget to factor what our choices cost. We are so concerned about permissibility that we have forgotten accountability. The way the Bible talks about freedom encompasses a more wholistic approach that seems to be the very foundation upon which freedom can even exist. This is not supposed to be rigidly black or white when it comes to the law rather, it looks more like a set of scales that we must weigh our decisions on before acting upon.
First Corinthians 6:12-15 (MSG translation) says that just because something is technically legal doesn’t mean that it is spiritually appropriate. Galatians 5:13 says that it is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and to destroy your own freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love because that’s how freedom grows.
So we can destroy our own freedom? When our personal rights trump our responsibilities, we undermine the very gift of what those rights even mean. Jesus’ rights were laid down when he chose the cross for us. He counted the cost of his own life against the wholeness of the world. Freedom and love are two sides of the same coin in that, when we chose love, freedom follows. However, it seems to be a one way street. When we focus on freedom first, we will use as much power and force is necessary to maintain our standing. Jesus’ sacrifice proves to us of faith that love is what truly produces the seeds of lasting freedom. If we use our freedom to love others well, we will all be free without coercion and power and pain.
We cannot mix patriotism with God, they are conflicted allegiances. We cannot measure what we should do with what we are allowed to do. Legal rights are not the same as moral rightness. U.S. citizenship and the framework of this country and all of its authority are not an extension of God’s word, that is called idolatry in the form of nationalism.