I know others on MemDay are going to be posting flag pictures and "Thank you, heroes" tributes; as well they should be. Honoring those that sacrifice their lives for freedom is the right thing to do, make no mistake about that. Christ Himself says that there is no greater love than to lay down one's life for a friend.But still a bit troubled that we sang the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" during our worship service Sunday. I don't care what the backstory behind the hymn is, and how God is prominently displayed in some of the lyrics. Sometimes songs come packed with other baggage, and that should be taken into consideration. And the Battle Hymn has a military connection, and is often one of the closing songs at the Republican National Convention.
When that song is sung, it almost never is in the context of worshiping God; it is usually worshiping some other ideology, and it is difficult for me to separate that side of it from the song so I can focus on Him in the sanctuary. Love your country, sure. But Lord always come first, and those aren't always as overlapping as you might think.
[Note: this post was influenced by InternetMonk's insightful look at Christianity and patriotism. See this and this, and also this really good one.]
3 comments:
I don't think we should ever sing any of our nations songs during our worship service in place of a song directed toward worshiping God. This has always made me uneasy.
It makes me ponder on whether we are Worshiping God, or the American God.
I'm not so sure. Yes, we need to be careful not to confuse our theology with patriotic ideology, but on the other hand, our country does deserve some honor for allowing us to worship freely and for following so many godly principles in the way we interact with other nations. Just as the office of the priest or king in Israel was still worthy of respect even when the priests were rascals, so our nation is worthy of some respect as the 'best game in town' for religious and individual freedom.
I think it is not inappropriate to be thankful for living in a free country and to express that thankfulness in the context of our worship of our Lord.
Our country does deserve honor for allowing us the freedom to worship. But the question in my mind isn't whether or not the country deserves honor, or whether or not we should thank the Lord for the country and its freedoms; the question is whether that should be done in the Lord's sanctuary or not. Methinks not.
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