i pledge allegiance
Growing up during the school year, each day would start consistently with a specific observance: students reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Written in 1892 by socialist minister Francis Bellamy, this pledge served as a daily affirmation, a commitment to unity and submission under the banner of the Stars and Stripes.
Allegiance is an interesting concept. It’s defined as “loyalty or commitment of a subordinate to a superior or of an individual to a group or cause.”
In case you live like Patrick Star (under a rock), you’re aware that our country recently held a presidential election. In this series on idols in our lives, I believe there’s no better time to examine the idols we worship regarding our politics, political figures, and nation.
We are called to pledge our allegiance to only one thing: Jesus Christ. I believe our enemy has seduced the American church into placing more trust in political power than in the power that raised Jesus from the dead, which dwells within us.
It’s vital in today’s climate to understand that, as followers of Jesus, we are called to pledge our allegiance solely as citizens of heaven and to place our hope for the future in Christ alone.
So, how do we avoid worshiping the idol of politics? Jesus gave a warning in Matthew 7:21-22 that there would be people who accomplished impressive things in their lives but would come to the end only to find they never truly knew God.
This teaching should challenge us, not frighten us, and compel us to examine our reliance. In this illustration, Jesus shows that those who didn’t truly know him were not relying on him but on their own works.
The sad reality is that, in 2024, many Christians are trusting more in their vote than in Jesus. This happens when we place our hope in a nation or government to solve the problems our world is facing.
Even the best earthly systems, filled with sinful people, are inherently imperfect. We must abandon the notion that our vote grants us plausible deniability for the problems facing the world. Instead, we must step into the world’s brokenness and get to work, empowered by the Gospel of Jesus.
Peace, security, prosperity, and countless other motivations for supporting (or not supporting) a candidate or party are not issues that voting alone will solve. These are not matters that human strength can resolve.
Sometimes, I believe we worship at the altar of politics because we, as God’s people, are afraid to go out into the world and address its problems—so we try to vote them away.
Jesus said his kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). So why are we relying on the world’s systems to usher in a heavenly kingdom?
In Matthew 7, Jesus continues this challenging word, describing those who were not of God being cast away. This should make us pause and consider: What team am I really on?
Idolatry is incubated in identification. We should not identify ourselves first as citizens of the United States, Kentucky, or anywhere else before we identify as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Yes, our politics should, of course, be informed by Scripture and our faith. But if we identify more with a political party than with Christianity—that’s idolatry! If we see ourselves as citizens of America before we see ourselves as citizens of heaven—that’s idolatry!
Jesus is an eternal King. If America ended tomorrow, God would still be good. America could crumble in an instant, and God would remain in control.
Don’t settle! Don’t worship earthly kings when you have access to the King of all Kings.
