Every year, as fireworks fill the sky and flags line the streets, we gather on the Fourth of July to celebrate the birth of our nation. We remember the courage of revolutionaries, the ideals enshrined in our founding documents, and the ongoing pursuit of liberty and justice for all. For many of us, the holiday also comes with a deep sense of gratitude: for freedom, for opportunity, for community.
But for Christians, Independence Day also invites a deeper question: To whom, or to what, do we ultimately pledge our allegiance?
This isn’t a new question. Scripture is full of wrestling over divided loyalties. One of the most sobering verses in the Bible comes from Exodus 34:14: “Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”
That word, jealous, might strike our modern ears as strange, even off-putting in reference to God. But it speaks to something profound: God’s desire for our undivided heart. Not because God is possessive in a petty way, but because God knows the danger of misplaced loyalty. When our first allegiance drifts elsewhere —toward power, politics, possessions, or even good things like family or country— we risk building kingdoms not rooted in grace, but in fear, exclusion, or control.
Jesus isn’t interested in divided allegiance. When Jesus tells us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength (Mark 12:30), Jesus isn’t speaking in metaphor. Jesus claims our whole lives not as a tyrant, but as a liberator. Because it is only in giving ourselves fully to Christ that we become truly free.
Of course, that kind of freedom looks different than the way our culture usually defines it. It’s not freedom from responsibility, but freedom for love. Not freedom from suffering, but freedom in solidarity. Not freedom as autonomy, but freedom as beloved community.
To be clear: pledging allegiance to Jesus doesn’t mean we can’t make other commitments. In fact, our faith often leads us into holy allegiances. We make vows to our spouses. We honor covenants in community. We may even choose to serve our country with integrity and courage.
But the difference is this: every other allegiance must be subservient to our first allegiance to Christ.
It is because we follow Jesus that we can be faithful partners, loving neighbors, and just citizens. It is because of Jesus that our patriotism must always be principled, rooted not in blind loyalty, but in a higher calling toward justice, compassion, and peace.
As Christians, we cannot allow nationalism to become an idol. We cannot baptize violence or excuse injustice simply because it comes wrapped in red, white, and blue. The Kingdom of God is not confined to one flag or border. As the Apostle Paul reminds us, “our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20).
Many of us grew up reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. And while the phrase “one nation under God” can be meaningful, it also begs a question: Are we living as a people truly under God?
Are we indivisible in love and justice, or only in self-interest? Do our policies reflect Christ’s concern for the poor, the stranger, the prisoner, the widow? Are we shaping a society where all can flourish… or just some?
That’s why this 4th of July, before pledging allegiance to a flag or country, I want to first offer a different pledge. A holy one. One that names who I am, and whose I am:
I pledge allegiance to Jesus Christ,
And to God’s kingdom for which he died—
One Spirit-led people the world over, indivisible,
With love and justice for all.
I don’t lift this as a rejection of America. I think of it as a re-centering. A reminder that our ultimate hope is not in empire, but in Emmanuel.
So this July 4th, let us celebrate what is good. Let us honor those who gave their lives in service. Let us give thanks for the blessings we enjoy. But let us also remember: the gospel does not call us to blind loyalty, but to radical love.
May our truest allegiance always belong to the One who liberates not just from tyranny, but from sin.
The One who builds not just a country, but a kingdom.
The One whose cross is our banner, and whose love knows no borders.
Jesus!
Happy Independence Day — and may Christ be our freedom.
