God & Country!

American Christians today should find themselves living in the tension between being an American citizen and being a citizen of God’s kingdom. 

I hope you got that: Christians "should" recognize the tension that is created by their faith in Christ and their national citizenship.

According to historian Alan Kreider: “In the ancient world, when Christians were at their best, they sensed a dynamic interplay between . . . affirmation and critique.” 

In other words, early Christians recognized the importance of both affirming their culture (nation) and yet critiquing it in light of their commitment to Christ.

This is no small issue for us today, especially in a time when populous nationalism is on the rise, not only in our own country but abroad as well. A nationalism that demands unconditional loyalty from its adherents.

In fact, in our own country such nationalism is often expressed as, “America first!” Such an attitude runs counter to the Christian mantra "Christ first!" Now do you see the tension?

Christians throughout the past two millennia have always lived locally, participating in the society to which they belong, but also recognizing that they were not obliged to unconditionally submit to secular authority (Kreider).

What allegiance they had to any government authority or nation was at best conditional.

It is this “conditional” dimension of our national citizenship that creates the tension between one’s loyalty to Caesar and one’s loyalty to Christ.

I am suggesting that it is this very tension that makes all Christians of all nations “Resident Aliens” (Hauerwas and Willimon) to whatever nation one belongs. This is why Christians from different nations may consider themselves brothers and sisters in Christ. Such a relationship supersedes any form of nationalism. Such a relationship knows no borders or boundaries that divide us from one another.

Living as a Resident Alien in one’s country demands that one practice good citizenship while living under the authority of Christ. As a citizen of any given country one is required to live according to its laws, participate in the life of the community as much as one deems appropriate, celebrate it’s holidays, and live peacefully for the sake of the Common Good.

But there are Gospel driven limitations to one’s allegiance to any secular authority. Whenever the expectations or requirements of a given secular authority conflict with the authority of Christ then one must be willing to “put on the mind of Christ” (Paul). Herein lies the tension in which we often find ourselves as subjects of two very different kingdoms or nations as it were.

Of course we are free to ignore this tension and offer our full uncritical allegiance to a secular power whose authority to which we choose to submit.

When any government authority acts or behaves in direct opposition to the teachings of Christ, we as followers of Christ are under no compulsion to oblige those authorities. We are to peacefully and persistently resist such authority.

We are responsible for critiquing all secular authority when the values of the Gospel are called into question by the secular authority.

Let me say it as plainly as I possibly can:

“We Christians are not obliged to take our marching orders from Caesar but rather from Christ!” 

We may still remain good citizens of our nation and love it, as well we should. But in a conditional sense, as Resident Aliens, submitting to the authority of Christ rather than the unjust mandates and policies of an authority that may not recognize Christ as our ultimate authority.

It is time for Christians of all stripes to recognize this difficult tension in which live together. Throwing our full fledged uncritical support behind government policies that are both systemically and prejudicially unjust is to ignore the life-giving mandates of the Gospel, as well as to ignore the tension that is imposed upon us by virtue of our faith in Christ and our national citizenship.

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:33).