Tag Archives: citizenship

Speaking up when it’s too late

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Several experiences over the last few days have reminded me of some terrible injustices, both past and present. Last week, Carolina and I visited the Hermitage, Andrew Jackson’s home, and were reminded to what degree the prosperity of the United States came at the expense of the Native Americans and African slaves.

Yesterday I was reading an article about the internment camps here in the United States during World War II. I wasn’t aware that immigration laws at that time did not allow Japanese immigrants to become citizens. Many of them, when asked to renounce their allegiance to Japan, refused to do so out of fear of losing the only citizenship available to them. And they ended up confined to camps during the war.

I recently read of the impact that harsh immigration laws are having on outreach to Hispanics here in the United States. I’ve long considered our immigration laws to be completely unjust, and I’ve wondered what the Christian response should be to such laws.

Looking back, I realize that Christians too often react too late to injustices. Now we recognize the horrors of what was done to the Native Americans. Now we decry the outrage of slavery, now we reject the racism of the past. Today we abhor the WWII internment camps, though continue to call those that created them “the greatest generation.” Kind of reminds me of Jesus’ words:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your father” (Matthew 23:29–33)

At what point would we look at a current situation and say, “This isn’t right”? I hear Christians claim that we will submit to the government unless we feel that it goes against God’s law. Yet we can look at these things from the past that were clearly wrong, and the church in general did not stand up against these injustices. What would it take to get us to say “No” to wrongs committed against those without power in our society?

Or will we do content ourselves to let future generations lament our mistakes?

Seeking A City

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“These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” (Hebrews 11:13–16)

This world is not my home I’m just passing through
my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
the angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door
and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.

School’s here

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Yesterday, we had a special time at church, with our attention focused on the beginning of the school year. We called all of the students up front and gathered around them to pray for them.

We did a number of scripture readings throughout the service, passages that had to do with education. One passage we used was the first chapter of Daniel. I told the kids that their situation wasn’t really like that of Daniel and his friends, though it might feel at times that they were being dragged to school by force. But I told them that there were some similarities.

We live in exile. Even in the nicest places, there are people around who don’t believe in God. Or books that promote ideas that aren’t entirely godly. Or peers who are choosing to do the wrong things.

I think that we need to teach our kids to be ready to be like Daniel and his friends, to say, “No, I can’t do that.” Groups like the Jehovah’s Witnesses prepare their kids very well to say, “I can’t participate in that.” I think all Christians could do a better job at teaching their kids discernment. (And our grown-ups, too!)

As the school year begins, I pray for protection for our kids and for those who work in the educational system. I pray that they can always remember who they are and Whose they are. May they be salt and light in this world.

Provincialism and patriotism

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Recently on Jay Guin’s blog, there was a vigorous discussion about the appropriateness of displaying the U.S. flag in the church auditorium. (You can see the conversations: first post, second post, third post) I wasn’t surprised at the variety of responses nor the excited nature of the exchanges. People get hot and bothered about this topic.

I can’t help but feel that some of that patriotic fervor is a reflection of provincialism. When all you know is the place you’ve grown up, the things that are done there seem normal, as we’ve discussed. Therefore we tend to suppose that Christians around the world are waving their flags and singing patriotic songs at church. Or worse, we suppose that they too are singing “America the Beautiful” and thanking God for the greatest nation on earth.

It’s not so. I haven’t traveled to every country in the world, but I can tell you that in the places I’ve been, there was no hint of mixing Christianity with nationalism. No chest thumping while proclaiming their nation to be the best. Churches in other countries aren’t perfect, but this is one confusion they’ve been spared.

It seems to me that when you really grasp the fact that you are part of a nation that spans all borders, that people from every tribe and tongue are a part of your family, then the idea of celebrating one earthly country during a meeting of that family will seem ludicrous. I’m blessed to be a part of a church family (our local congregation) that includes people from numerous countries. Off hand, I can think of people from Germany, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, El Salvador, Japan, Honduras, China and Costa Rica, not to mention some students that are from somewhere in Africa (I’m not sure where). If our church family counts them as a part of our body, then it seems to me we have two basic choices: we celebrate every country represented in our body or we celebrate none.

My preference is that we celebrate the nation that unifies all of us, the holy nation of God’s choosing, the body of Christ.

“These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” (Hebrews 11:13-16)

The Case for Non-Participation: Citizenship

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The strongest argument for non-participation has to do with a Christian’s citizenship. It’s a case I’ve made before, but I feel strongly enough about it to address it again. To be honest, I think that a true understanding of citizenship limits a lot of the nationalistic expressions and patriotic stances that I see in Christians in the United States.

For many, there almost seems to be a conflation of the Kingdom of God and the nation of the United States. (“God bless the U.S.A.” is less about God and more about the U.S. A.) What’s good for the U.S. is good for God. That attitude runs contrary to what I see in the Bible, where Christians are to live as strangers and aliens, seeking a heavenly city rather than an earthly one.

No man can serve two masters. No one serving as a soldier in the Lord’s service should be distracted by the “civilian affairs” of this world. You can’t be an ambassador of one nation and full-fledged citizen of another.

We are citizens of a nation that spans all earthly borders, includes all nations and races, speaks every earthly tongue. The good of every person on this earth is our business. The welfare of every nation on earth is our concern. Our main prayer is that we be able to lead quiet lives, able to spread the good news of God’s reign.

I don’t see how serving in the military of any one country can fit with that stance. Again, I’m in no place to condemn those who make a different choice. But I know that growing up, I never heard this teaching. I thought patriotism was a natural part of Christianity and military service a necessary part of patriotism. My aim is to help others at least recognize that they are making a choice, one that can have powerful consequences.