I am a product of a Christian school education. We started every day by first saying the Pledge to the American flag and then the Pledge to the Cristian flag. Of course we would have a time for prayer request and then we would pray. What a wonderful environment to be formed in. My last two years of school were spent in the public school system. Talk about culture shock...Wow! I've since become an adult (my wife may disagree) and in retrospect have looked back on those early years of my life and wondered about the forming that took place.
I attended a program that my daughter was in today and the day started much the same as it did back in the day. The only real difference was the Pledge to the Bible (we never did that), but a thought that I've had before returned to me. Why, in a Christian school, do we pledge allegiance to the American flag, a representation of man's kingdom, before we pledge allegiance to the Christian flag, a representation of God's Kingdom?! Every Memorial Day I've had the same experience in church. I've asked others this question before and the common answer is that this country affords us the freedom to worship the one true God. But does not a nation receive it's authority from God? Is it not God who has blessed this country in the first place? Maybe I'm grasping at straws here, but it seems to me that, on at least a subconscious level, we're programming priorities into our children. Country and then God. Just seems backwards to me! I love this country and think we have the best system in the world today (it has it's flaws, but is the best at this time), but I love my God much more! I pledge allegiance to God, family, and then country, in that order and plan on teaching my children the same.
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3 comments:
Good thoughts there. I have a tendency to want to take it another step further though. If you think God might not be to keen on us vowing our adherence to someone else first, do you think He might have a problem with us pledging allegiance to someone else at all?
I did NOT say we should refuse to say the pledge. I imagine in its conception and in most of its recital, the heart is respectful and honoring. It's just (yet again) one of those things we say and don't think about.
Ultimately, if our allegiance is to God, then everything else should fall into place without the need for us to "pledge allegiance" to anything else.
The more I've thought about your post, the more I want to suggest a book to you: Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. There is a chapter entitled, "Pledging Allegiance When Kingdoms Collide." The rest of the book is equally interesting and equally provocative.
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