When I was a kid, the subtext of Independence Day was that Christians love America, just like they love Jesus. I grew up in a Southern Baptist school that was also one of the largest churches in my city. Every July 4th weekend the entire Sunday service would be dedicated to patriotic songs and over sized American flags. Similarly, earlier today I was shown a video that was a photo montage of troops related to my coworkers; God Bless America was its soundtrack.
While it's great if God blesses America, and I pray for the troops and fully support their dedication to our freedom, I have to wonder how it is that we so easily and directly equate Christianity with American patriotism.
June 2010 was the deadliest month yet for foreign troops in Afghanistan. War is dragging, raging, sustaining, and to be honest, I think we should pray for God to bless other countries, like Afghanistan, and all the people within her borders-- whether they are American troops or Taliban insurgents.
Look at these photos, and see. See the children, the boy being questioned about a dead body. See the girls with schoolbooks & the boys with skateboards. See that our American citizenship does not make us any more deserving of freedom than those without it. See that there are other people in the world who need to know freedom. See the faces God loves. See that freedom is less about politics and territory lines, and more about the Spirit of God.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
2 Corinthians 3:17
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