American Exceptionalism: the New Idolatry

"He [Jesus] said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." (Luke 20:25)

The notion of American Exceptionalism, the belief that the United States is somehow qualitatively better than other nations, is a hard one for me to wrap my head around. It's even harder to swallow, and even more destructive, when God gets dragged into it and people start advocating that it's God's will for the Unites States to have a Christian government and be a "Christian nation," and even to spread itself across the globe in the form of little uninvited democracies here and there. American Expectionalism becomes idolatry when we begin to count on our country for happiness, to trust it to take care of us, to always be there to save us. 

"Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power." (1 Corinthians 15:24)

Norman Rockwell
Four Freedoms, 1942

People who advocate American Exceptionalism can't be blind to the problems facing this country that make it decidedly not Christian. America began with a revolution over what the colonists believed was unfair treatment by their king even though the Bible clearly states that we are to remain obedient to our governing authorities, even the unjust ones, unless that authority commands us to sin, wherein we are to obey God over man and take our punishment gladly (Romans 13; Luther's "Admonition to Peace" and "Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants").

America is a country that unabashedly legally kills its most defenseless citizens and then defends those murders by calling them a right. It allows its veterans to die waiting for doctors. It has the lowest education rating and the highest violent crime rate of any developed nation, along with the worst health care system, one of the highest rates of personal debt per capita, and a whopping $17 trillion debt of its own. It claims to be a "melting pot" of ethnicity, a refuge for the downtrodden and rejected from all countries, but the racism I have personally encountered, and the fierce anti-immigrant sentiment of much of the nation, beg the opposite.

It's impossible for anyone to live on minimum wage, leaving one to wonder what the "minimum" is for, and it's getting harder and harder for anyone to live on Social Security, leaving one to wonder what the "Security" is for, and then we complain that people need government assistance to get by. All the while, the large salaries, benefits, and retirement funds for our elected officials remain uncut. Those same well-paid elected officials make a bigger deal about hating and blaming the other than they do about their jobs of public servitude, and meanwhile the gap between the very rich and the average continues to widen to an absolutely ludicrous degree as we pay far more in taxes than our millionaire and billionaire brothers and sisters, and the poor have little choice but to stay poor as modern-day Horatio Alger stories usually end up in prison.

1950s Magazine Ad
Origin Unknown

Some blame the changing times and moral shifts. America used to be different, they say. When marriage followed natural law, when moms stayed at home, when kids walked to school unescorted and separated by race, when black men were lynched for talking to white women, when lives were threatened in regard to seat choice on a public bus... If we go back further into American's sordid past, we find an economic system deeply rooted in race-based slavery, and even our venerated founding fathers, who supposedly freed their slaves on their deathbeds (a gesture that would have meant a great deal more had it been done prior to their deaths) believed that while "all men are created equal," a black man was not really a man at all, but that he still counted for more than a woman of any color. This concept was only abolished after a barbaric Civil War in which civilians were targeted and the Constitution was stomped on repeatedly, and even after that, it took a century to establish equal rights for Black people. Further back still, and we find the contrived notion of Manifest Destiny as we displaced and decimated an entire native population in the name of God's will when in fact nothing could have been further from His will as it is clearly declared in Scripture: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Mark 12:31)

Well, nothing's perfect, right? America's made mistakes, corrected many of them, continues to make more, and the process goes on and on. Focus on the worst parts of anything, and it's bound to look bad. Look at Germany's past. Or Russia. Or Rawanda. Or present-day Serbia. Or ancient Rome. ISIS. That's exactly my point. Nothing is perfect apart from Christ, and America is no exception. No country should be counted on for salvation of any kind because each has its faults because each is equally riddled with the sin of this fallen world. We have to do our best with them according to their laws, and in America, that means voting for what's right and against what's wrong. But no government is a friend of Christ, and He didn't expect any to be. Jesus very clearly says,

“My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” (John 18:36)

Likewise, Christians should expect no government to be a friend of ours.

"You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." (James 4:4)

Nero
37 - 68 AD

Governments of every type have been throwing us to the lions for millennia all over the world, and they're not going to stop any time soon as the freedom from hearing, "Merry Christmas" trumps the freedom to say it. Governments are a necessary evil, and they are comprised of people who are just as sinful as anybody else (no more, and no less). The division of countries itself is the indirect result of man's sin: the Tower of Babel. The idea that God would prefer one man-made country over another is laughable.

         "Put not your trust in princes,
              in a son of man, 

              in whom there is no salvation.

          When his breath departs, 

              he returns to the earth; 

              on that very day his plans perish."
                  (Psalm 146:3-4)

All governments exist because God ordains them so. And I mean all, even the really bad ones (Romans 13). His has His reasons:

"Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!" (Romans 11:33).

All governments come to an end for the same reason. God has no preference for any earthly government and none will last into eternity. Christ didn't die for the United States. He died for the world: that is, everyone in it. I don't mean to sound as though I hate America, though I suppose some will call me un-American. That's fine. I don't hate America at all, though I don't share the same fierce pride that some display (1 Corinthians 1:26-31). I am grateful for the freedom and comfort we enjoy as American citizens, freedom that allows for the posting of articles like this without fear of censorship or arrest, for example, and I intend to use my vote to try and keep that freedom. Our soldiers don't fight and die in vain, but for us: their neighbors, and that act of love makes them heroes in my eyes and in God's (John 15:13; Mark 12:31). I have no intention of moving to another country because every country has its faults. America is as good a country as any: better than some in some ways, worse than others in other ways.

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28)

I am realistic, even pragmatic when it comes to government, and so is God. So long as I can serve God as He commands it under the government's watchful eye, I can be at home (Philippians 4:11-13). If despite my efforts to change things for the better within the parameters of the law, I can no longer do that, then God-willing, I will move someplace else. If not, I will try with the help of God to be strong enough to take whatever punishment the government has in store for me, even unto death. I would continue to be just as Christian even if, may God forbid it, the United States ceases to exist in my lifetime. But if you believe that the loss of our country or our freedom would be the end of your life, the end to all meaning and hope, you are worshiping an idol and not God (1 Corinthians 10) and you are wasting energy fighting the wrong fight (2 Timothy 4:3-21).

"Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." (Philippians 3:20)

 

Sin's Discrimination

Why do bad things happen to good people? Have you ever wondered? “God is faithful,” St. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:13. “And He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” Indeed. But sometimes just barely. Think back on your own life stories, or perhaps the life stories of others you've known or heard of: a mother who lost her daughter and a grandchild at once. A wife whose husband died suddenly leaving her with three children to raise. A fifteen year old struck with leukemia, a young man paralyzed in a car accident, a classroom full of kindergartners massacred, an earthquake killing over 100,000 men, women, and children within seconds...

Spencer, SD
1998

We often get lost in the thought that sin means only bad things that we do. While it is true that sins are actions we take that break the Ten Commandments, those actual sins are caused by something deeper in each of us, something that has infected not only our souls but the entire world and everything in it, sin itself: original sin. Not only are our hearts sinful as the result of this original sin, but nature itself is sinful. It is other than it ought to be. Tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes are fatal. Crops fail. Animals kill us, viruses spread with plagues, droughts run as rampant as floods, icy temperatures leave us frozen while hot temperatures leave us dying of heat stroke. It's power frightens us, as well it should, so we strive to control it. We pave over grass with freeways and sidewalks and put buildings up where trees once were. We build levies and dykes, we put up snow fences and dig storm cellars. 

Stock Photo

But no matter how far down we dig, no matter how high our levies are, no matter who we are, when a fault of nature decides crumble, there is just no stopping it. Nature isn't just wildlife. Our bodies are tainted by original sin, too. We were never meant to grow old, get sick, or die, but our bodies wear out after about 80 years (some much sooner than that) and we are by no means healthy the whole way through. We have aches, pains, and malfunctions God never intended. We are so intricately and wonderfully made, so strong and resilient, and yet so incredibly fragile, and so we do our best to control that, too. Organ transplants, radiation, ventilators, amputations, brain surgery, pill on top of pill, I.V. on top of I.V.... But no matter how often we exercise, no matter what kinds of medicine we take, no matter who we are, when too much of our body is damaged, nothing we can do will stop death.

Knowing that it's sin that doesn't care is a small comfort when it's your house that's flooded, or your body that's giving out, or your daughter who's died. But it is a huge comfort to know that God does care, so much in fact that, "He gave is one and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16) Because God saves as indiscriminately as sin hurts, no matter who we are. Click here to find the way of escape He has provided for you.

Suggested verse to repeat if when sin wages war on you is from 1 Corinthians 10:13

PRC buddies, remember to breathe!

"He will provide the way -------> 5 count inhale

of escape." -------> 5 count exhale

Veteran's Day

"All that is necessary for evil to triumph
is that good men do nothing."
Edmund Burke

Thankfully, good men (and women) by definition do something, following the example of He who has done all so that evil might never triumph in the end. Thank you for your service.

"Finally, BE STRONG in the LORD and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole ARMOR of God, that you may be able to stand against the SCHEMES of the devil. For we do not wrestle AGAINST flesh and blood, but against the RULERS, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present DARKNESS, against the spiritual forces of EViL in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole ARMOR OF GOD, that you may be able to WITHSTAND in the evil day, and having done ALL, to STAND FIRM."

(Ephesians 6:10-13)

For more on this particular passage, read "Shield of Faith."

Shield of Faith

"FinAlly, be STRONG in the LORD and in the sTrenGtH of His MIGHT. Put on the whole armor of GOD, that you may be able to sTanD against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against FLESH & BLOOD, but against the rulers, against the AutHorities, against the cosmic powers over this present DArkNess, against the spiritual forces of EVil in the heavenly places. In ALL circumstances take up the sHield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming DaRTs of the evil one." (Ephesians 6:10-12, 16)

Do you ever have those days when you can't even lift a gallon of milk? Criminy, I don't think there's anything quite so humbling as not being able to open your own bottle of Pibb. Days like that are mercifully fleeting for me, but the feeling of helplessness they bring isn't quite as short-lived. "Come home with your shield or on it." Legend traces that old adage back to Sparta. It was a command given to soldiers by their wives and mothers, meaning either come home victorious or dead. (A fleeing soldier would likely drop his shield in order to run faster, and a dead or wounded soldier would be carried home on it).

We're at war every day right where we sit, and man oh man, some days I sure can feel it: physically AND mentally. Satan, though defeated by Jesus’ death and resurrection, hasn't given up his bid for our souls. He can't win the war, but each battle with him―each battle with ourselves and our ailments―is an opportunity to give him one more soul, one more life, one more person that ought to belong to God.

So he works hard to make us miserable. 

He makes us doubt, cry, feel sick, and miss our loved ones so badly it literally hurts. He takes away everything we thought we needed. He knows our weaknesses better than we do, and he longs for our eternal death, for us to turn away from God, to forget God in our pain and misery, to hate God just like he does.

He tries to make us drop our shields and run away.

Feeling particularly weak today? Yeah, me too. I can't lift a gallon of milk, how am I going to lift a shield? But our shields don't depend upon our grip alone. It's fused to us in our baptism. God holds on to us, and that grip is strengthened through the Word of God, the Eucharist, and prayer. And thankfully our shield isn't made of steel. Our armor is made of faith, truth, readiness, salvation, and the Spirit of God. Our armor is made of the blood of our Lord and Savior, who sacrificed Himself for us: the truest, bravest, and most honorable of soldiers who took up a fight that none of us could win for the sake of nothing but pure, perfect love.

Who would drop a shield made of something so perfect? Lots of people. Millions, in fact. You've gotta admit, steel or no, it gets heavy from time to time. Our shields aren't what people expect. They won't save our earthly lives. They won't grantee us money, good health, or even happiness here on earth. That's not the kind of darts our shields can extinguish. We still get sick, and we will still die. But like a good soldier, we live and die honorably for something greater than ourselves. We die with our shields in hand, knowing the war is over, knowing we fought the good fight, knowing death is not the end but the beginning of eternal life with God in Paradise because Jesus, too, was carried home on His shield.

We will all be carried home on our shields of faith one day,

victorious in death.

Suggested verse to repeat when you feel like you can't lift your own arms is from Revelation 12:6a

PRC buddies, remember to breathe!

"And the great dragon -------> 5 count inhale

was thrown down." -------> 5 count exhale

(Some days, especially migraine days, I'm unable to look at either a book or a screen.

The online Bible site ESV.org has a great audio feature).

Strong Enough to Be Weak

"To keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the LORD about this, that it should leave me. But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." 
 

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

There was a young man in his early twenties. He was in great shape. He ran marathons and triathlons. He traveled through Europe mostly on foot. He was going to graduate from college with a physical education degree, and he was going to get married later that year. He was working construction for the summer, and he fell twenty feet from a roof. They had to amputate both of his legs at the knees. He wanted to kill himself, and that’s why they called me.

You want a challenge? Try living the rest of your life without legs. Nothing, NOTHING takes more strength than being weak. Nothing takes more strength than asking for help, than not being who you once were, than letting someone help you use the bathroom, change your sheets, bathe you, feed you, clothe you, clean up after you. We want to be rescued from our weaknesses. We hate them. We hate ourselves for having them. We work hard to get rid of them. We don’t want to live the rest of our lives in a wheelchair. We don't want to live the rest of our lives in pain, unable to work, unable to have children. We don’t want anyone to help us use the bathroom or bathe us. We don’t want to feel ill; we don’t want to die; we don’t want to miss our loved ones who have died.

We aren't strong enough to be weak.

But one man was. Jesus had the means to save Himself from death. He is the Son of God, after all. He could've smote the whole lot of soldiers and Pharisees alike who wanted Him dead with a single word. He could have called for an army of angels to rescue Him from His cruel fate with ferocity. He could have lifted Himself from that cross at any moment and not died. But He did die. The greatest act of strength in the world was also the greatest act of weakness.

Jesus has perfect courage. He didn't give into any of the selfish qualities we have that would tempt us to avoid His same fate. His love is perfect. That's why He didn't back down from the cup that was given to Him: YOU are why. He loves you so much, so perfectly, so completely that He willingly endured unbelievable suffering to the point of being forsaken by His Father so that you would never be forsaken.

Because He was strong enough to be weak for you, you are strong enough to be weak for Him. Forget the world where "strong" means that you can lift 50lbs or run a mile, and live in His world where strength is living with your weakness, really living. Life is hard, but you cannot fail no matter how bad it gets. He’s won the war for you. God’s grace is sufficient. Jesus’ love is perfect.

Suggest verse to repeat to yourself if it's a difficult day is from 2 Corinthians 12:9b

PRC buddies, remember to breathe!

“Power is made perfect -------> inhale 5 counts

in weakness.” -------> exhale 5 counts