Does America First Mean God Last?

The impulse to put one’s country first is not new. But too often, nationalistic instincts conflict with the vision of scripture.

Stan remembered his mom, Barbara, as a loving, sweet woman who served at church and volunteered at the homeless shelter. He had many memories of her loving interaction with neighbors, often sharing the fruits of work in her kitchen. 

Stan was shocked, when sometime around 2020, during frequent calls home, he sensed a shift in his mom. She was becoming increasingly fearful—she often sounded paranoid. She spouted hate for demon-crats who she said were ruining America. She made idols of “America first” politicians. She spent hours online studying Q-ANON. She defended the attitudes and actions of white nationalist hate groups who were popping up in the news.

Unconsciously, allegiance to America had superseded her allegiance to the ways of Jesus. 

The impulse to put one’s country first is not new, nor is its corrupting influence on followership of Jesus. But too often, nationalistic instincts conflict with the vision of scripture:

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other (Matthew 6:24).

Dear children, keep yourselves from idols (1 John 5:21).

Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only… (Matthew 4:8-10)

Two thousand years ago, people known as Herodians were among Jesus’ hearers. Tom Wright teaches us that “the Herodians were a non-religious Jewish group who were Herod’s supporters and sympathetic to the Roman government. They thought that Christ’s teaching and influence were contrary to their own interests.”[1] The Herodians, seeking political independence for the Jewish people, a separate state within Caesar’s empire, were something like a public political party mixed with certain understandings of Judaism. Their political aims were not wrongheaded per se, but those aims often conflicted with the aims of Jesus.

Here is more insight about the Herodians from Wright:

Jesus had just finished sharing some parables with the crowd. They saw an opportunity to put Jesus on the horns of a dilemma. In Matthew 22:17 they said to Jesus: “Tell us, then what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” Now this was a trick question. If Jesus said “No,” then the Herodians would charge Him with treason against Rome. If He answered “Yes” then the Pharisees would accuse Him of disloyalty to the Jewish nation, and He would lose the support of the crowds. This was certainly a catch-22 issue for Jesus.

Jesus’ answer shows incredible discernment, for He recognized that there is a sharp distinction between the two kingdoms. After all, they had already been using this coin in everyday business and commerce. The coin was a representation of Caesar’s kingdom, and he holds power over it in a sense. But there is another kingdom, not of this world, where Jesus is king. Temporarily, we are part of both kingdoms. Someone has wisely commented: “Caesar minted coins, as he had a right to do, and he demanded some coins in return as was his right. God has ‘minted’ the human soul, and He has stamped His image on everyone. Make sure you are honoring God with His right as well.”[2]

In our day, I believe a similar mistake is being made with reference to American Christian nationalism. Here’s why.

From a missional point of view, Christian nationalism distracts from following Jesus in his Divine conspiracy to overthrow evil from every nation (Revelation 7:9) and to replace it with the good, creative intention of God. That cosmic story is the one from which Christians are meant to receive identity and significance. That story includes America—and can include appropriate love of America—but the overall emphasis of God is worldwide. God is a globalist. Immigrants and migrants have always roamed the earth, crossing the boundaries of culture, tribe or nation. But in God’s heart, no such lines exist. To God, migrating people are his creation, part of the imago Dei. The question is: Will we join God in his heart or align ourselves with “America First”?

Missional thinking about the doctrine of election alerts us to the notion that God is forming a people to bless the whole world (Genesis 12:1-3). Christians do not put their country first, they put love of God, neighbor and enemy first. That can include love of one’s country, but loving one’s vision of their country can never surpass the Great Command. Christians are in covenant with God, not a political party or a partisan ideal. We are elected to the purposes of God, not the whims of election cycles. We pledge primary allegiance to God and his kingdom.

Whatever nation-state we find ourselves in, we are meant to find our truest meaning and clearest orientation in being the people of God as he intended. The kingdom of God is superior to all nation-states and all forms of government and their rulers. As Daniel saw in his vision:

…the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever (Daniel 2:44).

Paul guides us away from mere political forms of citizenship, saying:

Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:20).

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:2-3).

Citizenship is to be located in God and a mind fixed on God’s agenda is the launching pad for mission. This is important because foreigners, those not a part of one’s nation, those often excluded by nationalistic thinking, have a cherished place in the biblical narrative. For instance:

The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God (Leviticus 19:34).

Thus says the Lord of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another; do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another (Zechariah 7:9-10).

Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against…those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts (Malachi 3:5).

The Kingdom of God, as announced, demonstrated, and embodied by Jesus, is an alternative political order which requires our complete allegiance. It leaves no room for competition from nationalism.

The renewal of all things is God’s interest. Christian nationalism, being partial, can therefore never be our north star.

Following Jesus for the sake of all others is our mission and destination. The vision of the scriptures is global, not nationalistic. God created the world. The rulers of the world, doing the best they knew to do, created nation-states. It seemed the right path to improving life for all. And the patriotism that springs naturally from the arrangement of nation-states is fine in its place. But its place is fourth, coming after:

1) Love of God

2) Love of neighbor (especially the least, the last, the left out and the marginalized)

3) Love of one’s enemies.

Our focus is not on empire—and especially not anything that is economically exploitative, militaristic or that demonizes others. We must never let political parties radicalize the Church or cause us to react out of extreme views. What is truly radical, in the sense of the tap root, is the Divine intention of God. That intention, expressed in the rule and reign of God, is the basis by which Jesus called for repentance in humanity. He wanted his hearers to rethink all their previous commitments based on his person and his message. 

I wonder what Jesus might say to challenge the Christian Nationalism that undergirds Archbishop Krill and Vladmir Putin’s imagination and justification for war in Ukraine. We have some hints: James and John, no! you cannot call fire down from heaven on these people! “Peter, put away your sword!” Some of the greatest evil ever perpetrated on earth has come from religious justifications, from trying to force the kingdom of God to come based on the flawed imaginations of political and military rulers. They are always wrong.

Jesus’ challenge was real. People knew it—they felt its power. It was not just religious or spiritual. It had a deep impact on real people. Rightly heard, Jesus’ gospel of the kingdom would have challenged the political, nationalistic instincts of the Herodians. It has always been true: we must choose whom we will serve. God does not restrict his attention to the East or the West or the Global South or the so-called developed countries. Out of his passionate love, the prize God has in mind is the redemption, the justice, security and peace of all creation—which includes the nation in which one lives but cannot be reduced to it.  

From a sermon from Martin Luther King:

One cannot worship this false god of nationalism and the God of Christianity at the same time. The two are incompatible and all the dialectics of the logicians cannot make them exist together. We must choose whom we will serve. Will we continue to serve the false god that places absolute national sovereignty first or will we serve the God in whom there is no east nor west? Will we continue to serve the false god of imperialistic greed or will we serve the God who makes love the key which unlocks the door of peace and security?

Next week we’ll look at another common mistake at the intersection of gospel, church and culture. Thank you for reading!

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End Notes

[1] Tom has written about this extensively in other places, I found this adequate summary here: https://thinkingitthrublog.wordpress.com/

[2] https://thinkingitthrublog.wordpress.com/