My church preached a series a while back on allegiances. Frankly, I feel the mark was largely missed, primarily due to beating around the bush; but, it did make me think...:
al·le·giance
/əˈlējəns/
noun
loyalty or commitment of a subordinate to a superior or of an individual to a group or cause.
"those wishing to receive citizenship must swear allegiance to the republic"
Can a true follower of Christ have an allegiance to any earthly organization?
Can one be a devoted Democrat and a disciple of Jesus?
Can one be a devoted Republican and a disciple of Jesus?
Can one be a devoted member of a certain denomination or church* and a disciple of Jesus?
- *Earthly church organization, not Christ's true church.
What about our race, ethnic, or other identity group?
Antifa? Patriot? BLM?
And so on....
No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
- Matthew 6:24
No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.
- 2 Timothy 2:4
I believe the biblical answer is, no: we cannot claim to be a Christian and swear loyalty to any earthly organization, political or otherwise. Why? Simple: because no earthly organization is truly and completely loyal to Christ.
We can be members of things, or take healthy pride in our heritage/identity, but when our earthly allegiances start to be the priority in how we think, decide, and act, we are in serious danger on many levels, not the least of which is from horribly misrepresenting the One we claim to hold dearest.
As one pastor put it, "We cannot be ambassadors of a [heavenly] kingdom if we are advocates for a political ideology."
We owe it to God and all our "hearers" to examine ourselves, honestly.
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?
- 2 Corinthians 13:5
