I love my country. I thank God every day that I was born an American. I proudly vote, pay taxes, and engage in any of my civic duties (such as jury duty) and constitutional rights (like freedom of religion and speech). I love America.

My citizenship is not primarily American, however. As the old song goes, “This world is not my home, I’m just passing through.” Today, I’m a spiritual citizen of heaven while a physical citizen of my country.

This dual citizenship that all Christians have can bring up a lot of questions. How should we respond if and when our citizenship in America conflicts with our faith? Do Christians have an obligation to be involved in politics? To what extent should Christian leaders use their influence for political purposes? Should pastors make a big deal of their patriotism from the pulpit?

Many people have brought up these questions and offered thoughtful answers to them. My aim is not to answer those same questions definitively, but I hope we can think about these issues more deeply.

It seems America is more politically divided than ever. Each side thinks they’re right, and many of us feel the need to make our position known. But as ministers, we may be better off toning down our patriotism rather than waving a flag, either proverbially or literally.

In but Not Of

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “We are in the world, not of the world.” Jesus spoke to that reality as He talked and prayed with His disciples shortly before His crucifixion (John 15:19; 17:14-16). Though the phrase doesn’t appear word for word in the Bible, it has plenty of biblical backing.

Scripture commands us not to conform to the pattern of this world but to let God transform our thinking (Romans 12:2).

John went further in his first epistle: “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them” (1 John 2:15).

James, the brother of Jesus, had something similar to say: “ … don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4).

I wonder whether “world” here could be synonymous with “country.” Let’s swap out those words and see if it still makes sense.

Do not love your country or anything in your country. If anyone loves their country, love for the Father is not in them.

Don’t you know that friendship with your country means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of their country becomes an enemy of God.

That’s pretty harsh — and not at all the original intent of those passages. But it is a striking contrast, thinking about the primacy of our citizenship in heaven over and above any country affiliation here on earth.

I’m a spiritual citizen of heaven while a physical citizen of my country.

After all, we must not let anything — not even family (Luke 14:26) — take God’s place as our greatest love and first allegiance. That can be helpful as we work through how we should relate to our country, how we approach our patriotism, and how we support our country as ministers.

Could it be that there is a line we should not cross? Can we be too patriotic in our churches?

The Power and Pitfall of Patriotism

Is it wrong to be proud of our country? Absolutely not.

While in a Philippian jail in Acts 16:37, Paul invoked his Roman citizenship and leveraged the rights that came with it. He leveraged those same rights in Jerusalem in Acts 22 as he faced the threat of flogging. And in Acts 21:39, he expressed pride in his hometown of Tarsus, calling himself “a citizen of no ordinary city.”

However, Paul also recognized that belonging to God’s kingdom is the most important kind of citizenship.

In his epistle to the Ephesians, Paul frames the conflict between Jewish and Gentile believers as one of citizenship. Paul acknowledges that Gentiles who were previously “excluded from citizenship in Israel” became “fellow citizens with God’s people” after receiving Christ (Ephesians 2:12,19). Paul understood that spiritual citizenship is what matters for eternity.

So, can our American patriotism become a hurdle to the gospel? When we side with a political party blindly, for instance, we may be placing a roadblock in front of faith. No political institution is altogether perfect.

You may have opinions one way or the other, and those opinions may have a basis in Scripture and spiritual discernment. But preaching politically motivated sermons from the pulpit can divide rather than unite.

Also consider your audience. You may not realize it, but there are diverse backgrounds and opinions right there in your pews. And the surrounding area where God has planted you to flourish is made up of a diverse political patchwork. You may even find yourself ministering to expatriates and ethnicities that take pride in a country other than America.

I’m Proud to Be an American

Our American citizenship can also help advance the gospel. Today, the world is coming to our shores.

When we view people with an eternal perspective, we can see migrant workers from other countries as a mission field rather than a burden. And on university campuses, many international students are coming to Christ and returning to their own lands with the gospel. These are great opportunities we as Americans should never overlook.

In America, we have some incredible freedoms. We have the right to assemble how and where we like, to speak out when we choose to speak, and to worship publicly without fear of reprisal from the government.

Those freedoms may or may not be under attack, depending on your point of view, but regardless, they are unsurpassed among other countries. We must leverage these freedoms for the gospel.

Exercise your rights. Be open about your faith as much as possible. But understand that ultimately, Christianity is a global faith. All tongues, tribes and nations will come to worship Jesus (Revelation 7:9). America will not stand alone at the end of the age, but we will all bow to the same King: Jesus.