Back in 1984, my first year serving as a pastor, a member approached me following the fourth of July weekend and shared her feelings that it was not appropriate for a church to display the American flag in its sanctuary. That week I reflected long on the matter, and with a daughter aboard a U.S. Aircraft Carrier this July, the relationship between church and state is something I continue to ponder. During the American Revolution, Ambrose Serle reported to the British Secretary of State that the rebellion in the colonies was ultimately a religious war and that almost every minister doubled as a politician (Ambrose Serle to Lord Dartmouth, November 8, 1776); yet today, some pastors such as Doug Wilson, writing in Christianity Today (July 5, 2012), distance themselves completely from country, stating that “a Christian church has absolutely no business displaying a national flag in a sanctuary.” So what does the Bible have to say regarding the matter?
Scriptures are clear that God created institutions such as marriage (Genesis 2) and governing authorities (Romans 13), and that while in heaven “there is no marriage nor giving in marriage” and “our citizenship is in heaven,” nonetheless while living this life we owe a special loyalty to our family and our nation. Husbands and wives are instructed to love and respect one another regardless of whether the spouse is a believer or not, and in like manner Paul instructed believers in Rome to honor the king (Nero Caesar) even though he persecuted believers, later executing both Peter and Paul. The authors of the New Testament letters, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, never hesitated to speak of marriage, the state, job situations or a host of other practical matters of life. They never relegated faith to Sundays, and never relegated earthly associations to non-Sundays, but believed that faith should speak to all areas of life, including our relationship to government. And while Jesus said that any man who loves his wife more than God was not worthy to be His disciple, and Peter later responded to the Jewish ruling council that he had to obey God rather than governing authorities when the two were in direct conflict, the apostles nevertheless exhorted believers to love their wives and honor those in authority. Thus I have chosen to continue telling those in church that I love my wife, trusting they will understand they are to love their own wives, and that I love my country, trusting if they are of another nationality that they will understand they are to love their own countries. I will continue to display a flag while declaring God first in all matters of direct conflict, and to seek His blessing on both my family and my country.
Gersh Kuntzman recently wrote an op-ed piece in the New York Daily News (June 30, 2016) opining that “God Bless America” should no longer be sung at Major League Baseball games: “join me at the church of Baseball by not rising and not doffing your cap for a song that is not the national anthem of a nation that is not uniquely blessed by some deity that doesn’t exist anyway. If you want to thank God for blessing America, you can do it on Sunday in the other church.” I would agree with Mr. Kuntzman on one count – church is the place to ask God to bless America.