I Pledge Allegiance

And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

1 John 5:5 (NLT)

“I pledge allegiance, to the flag…” It’s a phrase many of us grew up saying as our days got rolling in school. We would do the pledge every morning in elementary school. That’s how we started our day. Now, this isn’t a debate or an indictment on the current state of our educational system or the perceived patriotism in our country (or lack thereof, as the case may be). It was simply a time which has passed.

But, pledging allegiance hasn’t disappeared altogether. Instead, it’s gone from a literal pledge about being loyal to a country and has fractured into pledges to many (perhaps thousands) of different things. There’s allegiance to the Democrat Party. There’s allegiance to the Republican Party. There’s allegiance to the Green Party. There’s allegiance to left-wing politics. There’s allegiance to right-wing politics. There’s allegiance to anarchy (as-in there should be no government). There’s allegiance to one political figure or another. And on and on and on it goes. People pledge allegiance to politics, especially polarizing politics. Why? I’m not a sociologist, but my own take: People want to follow something which they believe will make life better for them. Here’s the deal – no man-made political system can do that. Why? Humans are flawed creatures who are innately selfish. What works for one persons’ desires will harm another’s’. In other words, what one gains is a loss for someone else.

However, there is a non-political system, a government, which is perfect, and everyone receives perfection freely. There’s no selfishness. There’s no gain for one, loss for another. It’s called the Kingdom of God. And, frankly, this is the only place where our allegiance needs to be focused. Earthly kingdoms come and go. But, the Kingdom of God reigns forever. It also happens to be ruled by our Messiah, Savior, King, who laid down His life so that we can become citizens of the Kingdom. His name is Jesus.

So, today make sure your focus is on Jesus. Don’t focus on the political battles of the world. Don’t put your faith in man-made systems. Instead, pledge allegiance to the one, true King. Seek His kingdom.