I Pledge Allegiance.
It is a deep human instinct to pledge allegiance to a person or thing. But where we place our commitment shapes our identity.
Jesus is both True God and Real Life.
Dear children, be on guard against all clever facsimiles.1 John 5:20, 21, MSG
Idolatry is marked by the [desire] to use God for our purposes.
So many of our ‘spiritualities’ today,
including many that go under the name of ‘Christian,’
are really forms of idolatry.Dallas Willard, The Great Omission
It is a deep human instinct to pledge allegiance to something or someone. It makes us feel connected, known and safe. But as we pledge our loyalty, we must be mindful that where we place our deep commitment shapes our identity.
Because God calls us to give our utmost allegiance to him, to whom we pledge supreme fidelity is one of the most definitive and consequential spiritual decisions we make in life. Our predisposition toward idolatry—settling for substitutes for God—puts us at odds with God, which is why both the Old and New Testaments prominently feature warnings against idolatry. For instance:
Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them.
Jonah 2:8
Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
1 Corinthians 10:14
Tempted to Idolatry
Loud social and political alarm bells are constantly ringing in our ears. These are amplified and exploited by sellers of products and experiences that promise to either calm or distract us. Politicians have alluring siren songs of their own. These politicians position themselves as heroes who pledge to deliver us from our pressing social problems. But we are being manipulated by cheap counterfeits that are both deceitful and destructive.
An illustration of this deception was found among Jesus’ contemporaries. Most thought it was unquestionable that Herod, Pontius Pilate, Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin were the real power players of the Roman government, Israel as a nation and the Jewish religious system. Their offices were assumed to be places of paramount action where crucial decisions were made and important elements of life were initiated and controlled. Most of the people who crowded around Jesus would have pledged allegiance to one of these cheap counterfeits, but they did not have the power to deliver on what they promised.
Zechariah, known for reminding Israel of its vocation to serve God only, said, Idols speak deceitfully…they give comfort in vain (Zechariah 10:2).
Vain deceit harms us in two ways:
1) We forsake our fidelity to God.
2) We are inevitably disappointed.
Idolatry is destructive because, in part, as the people chose their idols, they were simultaneously choosing their enemies. To pick Pilate was to condemn Caiaphas, the Chief Priest, as a trouble-making immigrant. To pick the religious power of the Sanhedrin was to put oneself in the crosshairs of Herod’s great political and military power.
Modern-Day Idols
Some people today pledge allegiance to things that can easily become an idol: a particular political party or an ideology like progressivism, conservatism or libertarianism; nationalism or globalism; individual permissiveness or tight moral control.
A patriot who is also a Christian sees both strengths and failures of their country and works within it for God’s kingdom to come. Presently, we see a re-emergence of the temptation to go far out of those bounds and make one’s country an idol, to co-opt God for partisan political purposes. This impulse stands in stark contrast to God’s view:
All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.
Isaiah 40:17, KJV
Failing to keep God—his values and priorities—central is a feature of nationalistic idolatry. This is a double whammy for Christians, for such idolatry also drives much of the condescension humans feel toward and express to each other. Our disputes spread hatred when we invoke God’s name as the rationale and justification for the condemnation of our neighbors. Thus:
We cannot be too careful about the words we use; we start out using them and then they end up using us.
Eugene Peterson, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places
More consequently, national idolatry foments sectarian violence and provokes formal wars. The consequences are de-humanizing and far-reaching, for:
One of the primary laws of human life is that you become like what you worship. [For instance] those who worship power define themselves in terms of it and treat other people as either collaborators, competitors, or pawns.
Tom Wright, Surprised by Hope:
The Way of Jesus
It was a surprise to Jesus’ contemporaries—and sadly remains surprising in our day— that in a world of idolatrous lies, God chose to take action through a humble servant whom people called an illegitimate child. Jesus didn’t wear fancy clothes and ride a customized chariot. He wore the clothes of his neighbors and walked dusty roads with common people. He did not attend state dinners with the elite but ate simple meals with social outcasts. Instead of leading a conquering army, Jesus chose the cross—and no political power or even a tomb could contain it.
Jesus is the Truth who continues to break free and stand in stark contrast to idols, both past and present.
In 2024, we need to be spiritually rooted in Jesus’ teachings and manner of living. He is God’s only plan to defeat evil powers. When we are deceived by the idol of power, we forget that no politician is savior, and no political persuasion is messianic.
The way to wriggle free from idols is to follow Peter’s advice:
As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness.
1 Peter 1:15, MSG
We want to be pulled into God’s life. We want to seek freedom from political and nationalistic idols. As Christ followers, our highest goal is to live uninhibited, energetic lives characterized by releasing others from bondage and loving our neighbor and enemy through acts of redemption, repair, freedom and healing.
Considering the online conversations I've had with a couple of well-meaning Christians today on social media . . . your words here are a balm to my ears. So I've reposted them all over FaceBook. 👍🏼