I’ve gone back and forth with whether or not I should share my thoughts on the kneeling football players. My thoughts aren’t going to be popular, but I think it’s worth speaking up over.
This debacle over players kneeling during the national anthem and kneeling while the flag is on display has brought out a very real heart issue. Many people are angry with these players for dishonoring a flag – yet they don’t speak up when someone dishonors God.
We’ve idolized the flag. We’ve idolized this country. Our idolatry has us valuing things in improper orders – in orders that do not honor God.
If you’re like me, you think of idolatry more in terms of when the Israelites made a golden calf while Moses was on the mountain. (Read about it in Exodus 32.) I almost scoff at this ridiculous story – the people worshiped a golden calf as though it had saved them from being slaves in Egypt. The thought is absurd to me. What can a golden calf save us from?
Fast forward to our present time, and the outrage regarding our flag has me realizing that people idolize, people worship this country and this flag. This shouldn’t be. America cannot save us. The flag cannot save us.
Only Jesus can do that.
If we posture ourselves in worship of our Lord and Savior, and we chase after Him, then we will more often get it right when it comes to how to treat others. Racial division goes against the very nature of God, the sacrifice of the cross, and the love Christ called us to show.
Next time you look at players that are paid ridiculous salaries to chase a ball around, kneeling on the field during the anthem- I urge you, before you let rage take over your logical brain, ask yourself this: when was the last time you were concerned about someone taking the Lord’s name in vain? Ask yourself when was the last time you were concerned with someone dishonoring God? As Christians our allegiance is to Christ, first. And our call is love our neighbors. We cannot love them if we cannot see past our rage.
(Remember not too long ago, we had a football player kneeling on the field to honor God, and he was endlessly shamed and ridiculed.)
I don’t know if I just like to walk the wire, or if there is really middle ground in all of this. I wholeheartedly support our men and women in uniform – whether military or police. I support the officers that are being put in really tough spots making decisions as best they can in threatening and volatile situations. I know police brutality is sometimes an issue, but more often than not, in the videos and stories I view, the officers are being threatened and are acting accordingly.
I also fully support equal treatment of HUMANS. Man or woman, no matter the color of your skin, I believe you should have the same opportunities to learn skills, develop trades, use those to make a fair living for yourself/your family. I believe you are entitled to being treated fairly. I also believe you are entitled to being treated the way you are behaving – if you are hard-working, honest, and fair, then you should be treated as such. If you refuse to work, and you chose to lie and cheat your way through life, you should be treated according to your behavior – no matter the color of your skin.
I am grateful for the sacrifices of men and women who have valiantly defended our freedoms and rights and our American way of life. Their sacrifices are innumerable and they have protected our way of life at the sacrifice of their own. I am forever in their debt.
I am also acutely aware of the fact that here in America we need to turn our hearts to God, we need to seek Him, and His will. We need to get back in the Word, we need to pray, we need to seek His heart in this tumultuous time in our country. I thank God that I call America home, and I think my fellow Americans should also thank God that this is our home. May we never idolize our country or flag in the face of our God.
In case you missed it because the news was so worried about football players, a shooting occurred in Tennessee at a church on Sunday. Read more about it here.
Regina Walker 