Blessed to be an American

Those bumper stickers that say "Proud to be an American" should read, "Blessed to be an American." With that blessing comes the responsibility to make this country the best it can be to its citizens and to the world community. - Ron Erskine (www.commondreams.org)

I had this thought yesterday while sitting in church. One of our members was reading one of Abraham Lincoln's Proclamations for a National Day of Prayer. His "message" was a mix of religion and patriotism with references to our "Christian Heritage". As a historian, I often get annoyed with such references - knowing that our founding fathers were a mix of pious men of faith, enlightened deists, and agnostics. And Lincoln's faith is an enigma at best. He championed our national civil religion, but his personal beliefs are so murky that most scholars would shy away from describing him as a true Christian (and especially not an evangelical Christian).

But beyond the historical debate, there is this notion (made popular by Lee Greenwood) that I should be proud to be an American. I grew up believing in this American exceptionalism - that we as a nation are better than everyone else. And this belief was reinforced in church. American Christians were somehow better than other Christians.

I am beginning to question the propriety of such beliefs. Sure America is a great place to live and we as Americans enjoy unprecedented freedoms and prosperity. But rather than take pride in that, maybe we should be humble instead, knowing that are great achievements are temporal at best. And as a Christian, I am called to be humble before my Creator. He is the one who gives and he is certainly sovereign to take it away. I think it is time for American Evangelicals to put away the rhetoric of pride in favor of that of humble thanksgiving.

Our country's greatest danger does not come from terrorism, communism, or any other ism; It is our own pride that will be our downfall. Someone recently told me that the greatest civilizations on Earth were not conquered from without - they committed social and cultural suicide from within. I think Rome is a good example of this.

That doesn't mean we can't be patriotic - fly the flag, celebrate our freedom, support our troops, participate in our political system, vote! But also remember that we have a responsibility to a higher authority and a higher allegiance.