Before I dive into this I first acknowledge that not everyone who reads this may identify as an American or as a Christian. However, the blurring of these lines here in the United States is causing quite an issue. I begin squirming in my seat when I hear speakers, authors, or online pundits use “The American Way” and “The Christian Way” interchangeably as if they are the same. Let me adamantly proclaim they are very different. Being an American is not the same thing as being a Christian.

Now, soon as I have said this I can hear disgruntled readers saying, “He doesn’t love America!” or the ever popular, “If you don’t like it you can leave.” So, let me address this by saying I am extremely grateful for the country I live in. I could have been born many other places that have significantly less liberties and freedoms. I could have been born some place that does not have clean water, electricity, or other modern amenities that I too often take for granted. Yet, it is because I care deeply about my faith and the country in which I live that I must speak up.

As I mentioned one of the issues going on is blurring the lines between being an American and a Christian. When that happens we put the Cross of Christ and the American Flag on equal footing. We do as Mike Pence did at the Republican National Convention where he took the passage of scripture from Hebrews 12:1-2 and instead of fixing our eyes on Jesus and instead he replaced it with “Old Glory” and “this land of heroes”. My friend this is disgusting, this is idolatry. He went on to blur the lines when he included Jesus by saying, “Let’s fix our eyes on the author and perfecter of our faith and freedom….and never forget that where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Even here he is conflating Jesus’ idea of freedom that is talked about in 2 Corinthians 3:17 with the American interpretation of freedom.

One of the difficult things for me was after this there were many Christians who were justifying these actions and did not see a problem with doing this. It is time for us to repent and believe the gospel. When we have pastors who lead very large congregations like Jack Graham liking (on Twitter) what Pence has said and then retweeting it with the comment “We can bend our knee to Christ in faith and stand for our flag in freedom” it shows we are trying to surrender to two Gods, the God of Nationalism and the Christian God.

I have probably lost a large chunk of readers by making these comments. Yet, I want to say loudly that I do not personally identify as a Democrat, Republican, Green Party, Libertarian, or any other partisan affiliation. I have voted for people in all four categories that I have just mentioned. I am not interested in Partisan loyalty because no political party is fully compatible with the ways of Christ. As Christians when we are unwilling to critique someone from a political party that we more closely align with, then we have created an idol.

To some it may not make a difference, to some it may seem like semantics, but for me I am a Christian first then I am an American. My allegiance, my loyalty, my life belongs to Christ, not to America. “Old Glory” and “The Land of Heroes” is not interchangeable with Jesus and the great cloud of witnesses. We must choose this day who we will serve, and we can’t have two masters.