Christian Citizenship (Biblical Reasons Why I Want to Be a Christian in a Multi-Faith Nation) Part 31

 

This post is part 31 of a series on Christian citizenship, and why I believe mixing Christian identity with American identity is bad for both. I hope to give you little bite-sized thoughts, which represent themes you'll find throughout the Bible and historic Christian teachings.

Today's reason why I want to live as a Christian in a multi-faith nation:

I talked a bit about the First Commandment in my June 20 Entry, but to avoid giving the whole spotlight to current events, I want to revisit this passage from Exodus 20. 

When I was 12, my dad, a newly ordained Lutheran pastor, took my confirmation class to the mall. In 1993, before online shopping and social media, the mall was still a central gathering point both for commerce and socializing. 

He told us to pretend we had a million dollars, and make a list of everything we'd buy. 

During our discussion afterward, he said the things that get most of our attention, that take a  central place in our lives, that we wake up thinking about and go to bed thinking about, that we trust in when times get tough, that we would spend our hypothetical million dollars on...those can become our "gods."

Luther writes "we are to fear, love and trust God above all things." Anything other than God, which takes an ultimate place in our lives, should be suspect on the face of it. 

Laying my cards on the table here...I think in the United States of America in 2024, many of us have put our nation--or more specifically, our vision for our nation--in God's place. If we put our idea of what America should be above anything else, if we decide our friends and enemies based on that alone, if we trust our political ideology, or those who share it, will save us from any harm, if we filter every single message we hear, even the Gospel message, by whether it supports or challenges our ideology, then it is very possible our ideology has become our god. 

This is always a concern for Christians, but especially at a time of fear and uncertainty, we have to be vigilant. Luther believed our ability to follow every other commandment hung on our ability to follow the first. 

In my state, today is primary election day. I almost didn't remember, because in our society where partisan politics has become 24-hour "entertainment", every day feels like election day. Voting with our conscience is a way we can show love for our neighbor. But voting is not worship. That is for God alone. 

For more background information read this statement from the ELCA's presiding bishop, or learn about Christians Against Christian Nationalism.