Today is the 4th of July, celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 250 years ago. This weekend, many churches are celebrating, decking their facilities with flags, as well as red, white and blue bunting. While there is nothing wrong with celebrating the founding of our nation and praying that God would continue to bless America, as we pray for our national, state and local leaders, I have found myself having mixed feelings for this holiday. After living overseas for 13 years and growing to love another language, culture and people, I’m reminded that the Kingdom of God is global, more than national. Our first allegiance is to the Kingdom of God even more than to the American flag. Jesus instructed us to seek first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness even more than national prosperity and blessing. Jesus’ great commission to his followers instructs us to disciple all nations, not just our own.
Before we left for Italy, we were instructed not to export our American culture. Required reading included a book, entitled “The Ugly American” a 1958 bestselling political novel written by Eugene Burdick and William J. Lederer . The phrase “Ugly American” has come to refer to the arrogant and loud behavior of some Americans living and traveling abroad. The warning of that book was for Americans living overseas not to have an attitude toward the local culture and avoid having an air of superiority toward local people. I found the book eye-opening begin to see our own culture through the eyes of others as well as challenged to learn to respect the culture, language, history and people of Italy.
As we celebrate 250 years, let’s remember that there are more followers of Jesus living outside of the United States than in it, more who speak other languages than English. They too, are our brothers and sisters and fellow citizens of heaven.
David Freitag 