I pledge allegiance to...

Matthew 6:24 (AMP)

24No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise and be against the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (deceitful riches, money, possessions, or whatever is trusted in).

The closer I grow to God the more troubled I am by what I discover I’ve been “programmed” to believe is right and wrong. During this time of war, I obviously think a lot about the lives that are being sacrificed for my “freedom” and “peace”. I think a lot about the Old Testament and the many battles where God led his people to victory and even the battles where God allowed the enemy to prevail. I think about “thou shall not kill” in contradiction to David and Goliath. Ultimately though, I always come back to the Cross and why Christ died for me (for us)? He paid the full price for my sin because He loved me and wanted to free me from the bondage of that sin.
I really believe that the “American Dream” has led us back into bondage in the name of a different kind of freedom. We are slaves to our country because we have been taught that if we don’t love and serve our country then we are un-patriotic and generally bad people. We have to kill to preserve that freedom; we have to sacrifice our youth and the youth of “terrorist” nations to maintain that peace and freedom. We have to “support” our country and leaders or else these lives are being sacrificed in vain. Just the shear act of my writing this without fear of death or imprisonment is a blessing from the “Almighty United States of America”.

I’m glad I live in the United States but at the same time I wonder what it would be like to live in a third world country where the only protection that I had was my God. I’m thankful for all the freedoms that I have and that I can say what I wish without fear of punishment or death but at the same time I think of the amount of time that Paul spent in prison singing praises to God and wonder what it would be like to have such faith. America offers me many freedoms including the freedom to live a life without having to know what it means to fully rely on God.

What bothers me most about my attitude, having grown up an American, is that I don’t love people from other nations as God has called me to love them. That while I cover my heart with my hand and pledge my allegiance to the god of the American Flag and shed tears for my fellow country men who have died for that flag, I never once shed a tear for that fellow child of God who died because he fought on the other side of my flag.

I don’t know if any of this makes sense to anyone else and maybe it even incites you into anger but frankly I’m tired of serving two masters. I no longer want to be a “Christian” or an “American”; if I have to label myself then I want to be known as simply a disciple of Christ, a carrier of the Cross or simply a fisher of men. If I am persecuted because of this then I will consider myself blessed. If I end up imprisoned for this then I will rejoice and be content. If I find my life in danger because of this, then I will give thanks in all things because this is God’s will. Thankfully, I don’t have to fear any of these things because God has blessed me and called me to serve him right where I am. I pray that my life would look the same regardless of geographical location. I am a citizen of the greatest nation ever, the Kingdom of God. This Kingdom has no boundries and it's love encompasses all people and it's citizenship requires obedience to only one ruler, the great “I AM”.

1 Chronicles 29:14-20 (NLT)

14 But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! 15 We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace.
16 “O Lord our God, even this material we have gathered to build a Temple to honor your holy name comes from you! It all belongs to you! 17 I know, my God, that you examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there. You know I have done all this with good motives, and I have watched your people offer their gifts willingly and joyously.
18 “O Lord, the God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make your people always want to obey you. See to it that their love for you never changes. 19 Give my son Solomon the wholehearted desire to obey all your commands, laws, and decrees, and to do everything necessary to build this Temple, for which I have made these preparations.”

20 Then David said to the whole assembly, “Give praise to the Lord your God!” And the entire assembly praised the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed low and knelt before the Lord and the king.