Who is Our Real Enemy - by Raydon and Kim Haskins

Recently, I have been reading a book called “Satan and His Kingdom” by Dennis McCallum. In one of the chapters, something hit me while I was reading. He talked about how Satan keeps us from taking territory for the Kingdom through distractions. He then gave an example about how Christians spent years--lots of money and energy--on prohibition (politicking to get alcohol considered illegal). This really did not do anything but produce anger toward Christians. “What does that have to do with diversity?”  Well, I’m glad you asked.
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For the past couple of months some NFL players have been protesting the American Flag because of police brutality toward African Americans.  While there should be a Gospel centered response from the Church, the idol of patriotism has reared its ugly head once again.  I truly believe the devil is using this to target God’s church in order to divide us and keep us from what matters most and what matters to Jesus: the souls of people. Is Jesus using this situation to show where our hearts are really at?  Does Jesus care about our patriotism? Yes, I believe He does.  If anything, I believe it shows where our heart truly lies: with Him and His Kingdom or with our country of origin and our nationality.

I know that this may sting, but let me challenge something.  As a black man, I had to have a come to Jesus moment and choose which was more important, being black or being part of God’s kingdom.  I had to “die to myself” and release my identity to join God’s kingdom and become His son.  I’m not saying I had to give up my heritage or give up being proud of where I came from.  What I mean is this: being black comes second to being part of His Kingdom.  The same thing should go for pride in our nationality. The love of country and pride in our people should only come second to being part of the Family of God. Sure, we can be proud to be American, but being American should not supersede being a child of God and being part of His Kingdom.  Our love of culture and country are offensive to Jesus if He does not come first. As God’s people, we need to reorient our lives around His purposes and His vision for His Kingdom.  Here is how we can do this in light of social justice issues:

1. Set aside (deny) your patriotism, ask Jesus what He thinks about issues and align yourself with His desires. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24
2. Seek unity over offense with your brothers and sisters in Christ. “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”  Ephesians 4:3
3. Seek to learn about the issues and begin to look at the problem through the lens of the Gospel. “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” James 1:19

As God’s body, we should be “loving our neighbor as ourselves”, be “quick to listen and slow to speak”, and demonstrate fruits of the Spirit like love, peace, patience, kindness, and self-control.  These things should rule our interactions with people, especially on hot topics like the NFL kneeling at the flag controversy.  How can we claim to be fully part of God’s Kingdom if we do not allow his loving law to take priority control over our hearts, minds and actions?

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