“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!” — Isaiah 52:7
I first wrote about this in 2017, during the current president’s first presidency. I am seeing many of the same patterns today, and my heart is still heavy. The question remains: How should Christians think about patriotism, politics, protest, and faith?
Loving your country is not wrong. Being thankful for freedom is not wrong. Respecting the people who have sacrificed for this nation is not wrong. But as followers of Jesus, we must be careful not to confuse love of country with worship of country. Our first loyalty belongs to God.
The Tension Many Christians Feel
There are moments when faith and patriotism feel like they are pulling us in different directions. We may love our country, but we may also grieve over injustice, harsh words, division, racism, suffering, and the way people treat one another. We may respect authority, but still feel troubled by what leaders say or do. We may value the flag, but also care deeply about people who are hurting and feel unheard.
That tension is real. Many believers feel it. I have felt it too.
When public debates become loud and personal, it is easy for Christians to get pulled into anger, name-calling, fear, and party loyalty. But Jesus calls us to something higher. He calls us to truth, humility, love, prayer, and courage.
What Comes First?
Jesus made our priorities clear. We are to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind. We are also to love our neighbor as ourselves. That means our faith should shape how we speak, how we vote, how we disagree, how we respond to leaders, and how we treat people who see things differently from us.
Love for God must come before love for any nation, political party, president, movement, or public figure. Our allegiance to Jesus must be stronger than our allegiance to America. That does not make us unpatriotic. It makes us faithful.
The Bible teaches us to honor those in authority and to pray for our leaders. That does not mean we must agree with everything they do. It does not mean we ignore wrong. It means we refuse to let disrespect, hatred, or bitterness rule our hearts.
For example, we can pray for a president, governor, mayor, police chief, judge, or school board member even when we disagree with them. We can say, “Lord, give them wisdom, protect them from pride, surround them with honest counsel, and help them make decisions that serve people well.” Prayer does not mean approval of everything a leader does. Prayer means we trust God enough to bring our leaders before Him.
Freedom Should Not Make Us Proud; It Should Make Us Responsible
One of the blessings of this country is freedom of speech. People can speak, protest, kneel, stand, vote, worship, write, and petition the government. We may not always agree with how someone uses that freedom, but freedom is not only meaningful when people use it in ways we like.
As Christians, we should be slow to attack people and quick to listen. We should ask, “Why is this person hurting?” before we ask, “Why are they making me uncomfortable?” We should care about justice, compassion, truth, and peace because God cares about those things.
Freedom should not make us arrogant. It should make us grateful. It should also make us responsible for how we use our words and how we treat people made in the image of God.
A simple example is social media. Before we share a post, respond to a comment, or repeat a headline, we can pause and ask, “Is this true? Is it helpful? Does this sound like Jesus?” We may have the right to say something, but Christians are also called to speak with grace. Freedom gives us the opportunity to speak, but faith teaches us how to speak.
Our True Citizenship Is in Heaven
The Bible reminds us that our citizenship is in heaven. We live here, work here, vote here, pay taxes here, raise families here, and seek the good of our communities here. But this world is not our final home.
That truth should keep us grounded. We can love our country without making it our god. We can honor leaders without treating them as saviors. We can care about politics without letting politics control our spirit. We can be thankful for America while remembering that Jesus is King over every nation.
Think about the early Christians. They lived under governments that were often unfair and even hostile to their faith. Yet they still gathered, prayed, served the poor, cared for widows and orphans, and proclaimed Jesus as Lord. Their witness was not built on political power. It was built on faithfulness to Christ.
Our hope is not in the White House. Our hope is not in Congress. Our hope is not in a party platform. Our hope is in Jesus Christ.
So, Is There Middle Ground?
Yes, but middle ground does not mean watering down our faith. It means refusing extremes that pull us away from Christ.
We do not have to choose between loving our country and loving people who criticize it. We do not have to choose between honoring authority and speaking truth. We do not have to choose between patriotism and compassion. But we must choose Jesus above everything else.
Christian patriotism, at its best, is humble. It is thankful, but not blind. It honors sacrifice, but does not ignore suffering. It prays for leaders, but does not worship them. It seeks the good of the nation, but never forgets the Kingdom of God.
A Better Witness
In this season, the Church has an opportunity to offer a better witness. We can speak with grace. We can pray for those in authority. We can listen to those who are hurting. We can stand for truth without becoming cruel. We can disagree without destroying one another.
God is love. God is King. His Word is our final authority. We are citizens of heaven before we are earthly patriots. Jesus is the King of kings, and our first allegiance belongs to Him.
May our love for country never become greater than our love for God. May our political opinions never become louder than our Christian witness. And may our lives point people not to a party, not to a president, and not to a flag above all else, but to Jesus Christ, the One who reigns forever.
Minister A Francine Green I June 2026