Growing up, the Fourth of July was my favorite holiday.
The whole family gathered at my aunt’s house. While the burgers and hotdogs cooked on the grill, Aunt Barb would put the finishing touches on her famous potato salad and my cousins and I would run and play outside.
Then, as the sun began to set, we’d pile into the car and head to the county fairgrounds to watch the fireworks light up the night sky.
To this day, those memories make me smile.
As a kid, I didn’t think much about patriotism.
I grew up learning to love Jesus and my country.
The two never felt separate.
Honestly, I don’t remember anyone ever standing behind a pulpit and saying, “To be a good Christian, you have to be a good American.”
I don’t think anyone had to teach me that patriotism was part of following Jesus.
I simply absorbed it.
Every morning at school, we stood and pledged allegiance to the flag, declaring we were “one nation under God.”
Our money reminded us, “In God We Trust.”
Every July, we celebrated the blessings of living in America.
Then on Sunday, there were two flags on the platform: the Christian flag and the American flag.
As a teenager, I remember Christian songs like America Again and The Flag by Carman, and Ray Boltz’s I Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb. Their popular albums became part of the soundtrack of my faith.
None of those things felt strange.
None of them felt political.
I never stopped to ask where one ended...and the other began.
Until I started reading the Gospels differently.
I wasn’t looking for evidence to support a side. I just started paying more attention to to Jesus—what He said, how He responded, who He cared for, and what He asked of His followers.
And I noticed something that surprised me.
Jesus talked constantly about the Kingdom of God.
He called people to deny themselves.
To love their enemies.
To forgive seventy times seven.
To bless those who persecuted them.
To take up their cross.
To seek first the Kingdom of God.
He talked often about allegiance.
But He never called His followers to patriotism.
Not once.
That doesn’t mean He was anti-government.
Or that loving your country is wrong.
Scripture tells us to pray for those in authority and to seek the good of the places where we live.
Gratitude for our country is a good thing.
But gratitude and allegiance are not the same thing.
And looking back, I don’t think that idea came from one sermon...or one song...or one flag on a church stage.
It came from years of being formed by both church and culture at the same time.
Neither was trying to replace Jesus, but together, they shaped an assumption I never thought to question: That loving Jesus and loving America we’re synonymous.
But over time, it became harder and harder to identify where one ended and the other began.
And I hadn’t even realized that at some point, my love of America had begun to supersede my love for Jesus. Oh, I wouldn’t have been able to see or admit it then. But as I kept reading the words in red, I’ve found myself wrestling.
Not with whether I should love my country.
I do. And my heart often breaks for her.
The question was whether my love for my country has ever competed with my love for Christ.
And suddenly, I realized it had.
Patriotism became my litmus test for biblical alignment, not the Bible…and not Jesus.
The first commandment says, “You must not have any other god but Me.” (Exodus 20:3, NLT)
I’ve always imagined other gods as physical idols like statues carved from wood or stone.
Something obvious.
Something ancient.
Something pagan.
But idols have always been about more than statues.
An idol is anything that quietly asks for the loyalty, identity, or devotion that belongs to God alone.
And that’s what started to challenged me.
I don’t think most Christians intentionally idolize their country.
I certainly didn’t.
I loved Jesus.
I loved America.
I simply assumed those loves would always point in the same direction.
But then I noticed something in the life of Jesus.
Again and again, He chose a path that looked radical to the people around Him, especially the religious leaders.
He loved His enemies.
He refused to seize political power.
He welcomed outsiders.
He crossed cultural boundaries.
He challenged religious nationalism.
When people expected Him to establish an earthly kingdom, He kept pointing them to a heavenly one.
And I couldn’t help but ask myself:
What if following Jesus makes me appear unpatriotic?
What if the two were never meant to be as aligned as we’ve made them?
Not because I love my country less.
But because my allegiance belongs somewhere else first.
I wonder if that’s why some of Jesus’ teachings feel so radical today.
Perhaps it’s because we’ve spent our lives being discipled by two kingdoms at once.
One has taught us how to be Americans.
The other teaches us how to be citizens of the Kingdom of God.
Sometimes, those values overlap.
But sometimes they don’t.
And when they collide...which kingdom wins?
This Fourth of July, I’ll celebrate.
I’ll enjoy the food.
The family.
The fireworks.
I’ll thank God for the freedoms I’ve been given.
And I’ll continue to advocate for loving ALL of our neighbors like Jesus.
But I also remember that one day every earthly kingdom will fade.
Every flag will be folded.
Every nation will pass away.
Only one Kingdom is eternal.
Only one King gave His life for me.
And only One is worthy of my undivided allegiance.
Reflection
As you celebrate this Independence Day, spend a few moments asking the Lord to search your heart.
Is there anything competing with Jesus for my deepest allegiance?
Have I ever confused cultural discipleship with biblical discipleship?
If following Jesus ever put me at odds with my culture, my politics, or even my country...would I still follow Him?
Because the greatest threat to our discipleship isn’t always rejecting Jesus.
Sometimes it’s quietly placing something beside Him, that over time, replaces Him.
Hi! I’m Torrie. Thanks for stopping by.
If this article encouraged you, provided language for what you’re feeling,
or challenged you, I’d love to hear your story in a comment below.
Thanks for sharing this. Sadly, I had to remind my former pastor (yes I left) that until Jesus returns, the law of this land is the Constitution, its rights belong to everyone (not just Christians), and in a democracy, laws cannot be based on a religious text. Unfortunately, he disagreed.
Torrie, this is a great article. Jesus reminded His disciples, “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God's.” As believers, we must live in this world under a worldly system that God will eventually destroy and replace with the Kingdom of God. So we pay our taxes, obey the law, and be the best neighbor possible. But we do not give our hearts to lawmakers ruled by lobbyists. Jesus holds our convictions and fidelity. The nation holds our passports and declares the holidays we want to celebrate.