Serving Bread

Welcome to the third day of our local convention. Today, we will tackle patriotism. The theme of the convention is: Kingdom First. The topic for the day is: “Serving the Greater Good.”

John McCain’s theme during the Republican National Convention was “Country First.” Speaker after speaker invoked the mantra that country must come first and that John McCain is the candidate who will put country first.

No one should deny the patriotism of either candidate and the heroic ways that they have put country first. As a community organizer, Obama served the poor in his community rather than pursue a vocation that would have bettered his lot in life, and increased his net-worth and stature. As a navy pilot, John McCain fought in Vietnam and suffered unimaginable torture because he sought to put country first.

But the “country first” theme should not easily align with Kingdom values. In the Letter to the Church in Philippi, the Apostle Paul writes that our citizenship is in heaven and in his sermon on the Mount, Jesus invites us to first seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness.

There is an inherent tension between country first and Kingdom first. Only one entity can take priority in our lives. Scripture clearly teaches that the Kingdom of God takes priority over any other institution of kingdom. Some will take this position to mean that national allegiances and patriotism do not matter. They do matter. But it is putting the Kingdom of God first that empowers us to seek the well being of our country.

There are many reasons why I love America. But at the root of my love for country is not because I feel like I should be grateful for what America has done for me, but because the Kingdom of God propels me to have a deep love for my country.

Although our citizenship should remain in heaven, Christians should be modeling and leading people to love our country. Loving country can mean a few different things including, caring for the poor and needy among us, empowering people to know God’s love in a profound way, challenging institutions to be better stewards of their resources, and fighting evil both locally and globally (and evil is not just terrorism).

But I will not do any of those things because I am supposed to, but because God empowers me to.

Jesus calls us to serve the greater good. He calls us to lay down our lives for our friends and enemies. He calls us to care for the least among us and pray for those who hate us. In effect, Jesus asks for our allegiance to the Kingdom first and foremost.

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