Country Third. Or Fourth.

Let me tell you about my day. (Don't worry, this is going somewhere.)

This morning Sue, Jen and I headed out for Seattle. I dropped the girls at the Holiday Inn at SeaTac, as they have a 6 am flight tomorrow morning to Appleton, Wisconsin (via Atlanta.), Yes, I said Wisconsin. You're wondering why... just like the U.S. Immigration officer at the Peace Arch crossing this morning, who pointed out to us that "nobody goes to Wisconsin." Sue and Jen are off to the International Christian Conference on Prostitution at the Green Lake Conference Center. (I promise - I do have a point I'm getting to.)

I'll be honest with you, I don't particularly like clearing U.S. Immigration anymore. I've done it many, many times, both pre- and post-9/11, and without getting into the security issue, I'll just say I often--not always, but often--find the experience "oppressive." (Almost there.)

Anyway, this is all swirling in my head on the way back up I-5 as I pulled over just north of Mount Vernon, bought some gas and a sub, and dialed Wes' number for a scheduled conversation. I shared with him something that was bugging me about what I had heard out of the RNC this week.

"Country first."

Apparently John McCain puts his country first. Even his wife seemed to boast about the fact that John puts country first, which struck me as a little odd, but hey - I'm not married to the guy.

Here's the thing I'm trying to get to. As followers of Jesus, we should not and cannot put country first. Our allegiance is to the King and the Kingdom, not the president and the country. (As an aside, Wes makes a good case for God not being "first" in our lives, but "central". That however is not my story to tell, so we'll stick with the linear model for the moment.)

As a believer my God comes first. Then, I would suggest comes family and/or community, depending on whether or not you view those two terms as separate or not. After that might come country.

Now here's the thing. I'm not suggesting that John McCain or Barack Obama must prioritize their lives the same way; that's not for me to say. (Interesting note: I got home this afternoon to an email from Wes pointing out Jim Wallis' column on this very issue. In that piece Jim points out that Barack Obama said much the same thing - that all Americans must put country first.) Followers of Jesus who also happen to be Americans must decide if they will vote, and if so, who they will vote for. That's well and good. But what is bothering me is the way some Christians seem to worship at the feet of candidates who put "country first." To be frank, my biggest issue is with the Christian right in their adoration of the Republican party and candidate. You cannot serve two masters, so make up your mind. I think my real fear is that American patriotism has evolved into a frightening ideology, and in some corners Christianity is becoming a subset of that ideology.

I'm just rambling now. Go read Wallis' piece... he said it much better.

Comments

[lynne]

This brings the Derek Webb song "A King and A Kingdom" (Mockingbird CD) to mind.
Come to think of it, the whole CD is worth a listen...all things considered.

[wilsonian]

I don't know. Seems to me that patriotism (of any brand) can easily become religion. Special songs, rituals, symbols. Us and them. etc.

[Leslie]

Definitely God first, yes.

>>Then, I would suggest comes family and/or community, depending on whether or not you view those two terms as separate or not. After that might come country.

But how does one put the family/community first? When I think of all the families suffering in countries where the leader has placed themselves before the good of the country, to have a leader claim "Country First" could be seen as a way to prioritize just as you say.

[Mike]

Leslie - You raise a good point. Simply stating "country first" doesn't really tell us anything. In some ways its a vacuous statement. Yet the point remains that it's a pledge of allegiance that I don't want to make. Country first, whatever that might mean, also means that something else can't be first; at best something else can be second. (Geez, I hate the linear nature of this model!)

I think we can infer some things though. Stating "country first" and then advocating for the poor tells us something completely different than saying the same thing and advocating for tax cuts for the rich. I guess it's a part of the package.

[Trisha]

Lynne- I was going to say the same thing. Derek Webb is amazing, and rather than just listening to his Mockingbird CD, I suggest checking out all of his stuff. It's all amazing.

[Mike]

That's where I grabbed the "King and Kingdom" line from.

: )