In one of my rare forays into FaceBook, I saw the following post shared by one of my friends (I still don’t understand why people like to share other people’s posts…. although I guess that is what I am doing here.)
This is clearly a bit of American political advertizing. If you don’t know the context, then don’t worry about it. But is the statement true? Maybe, maybe not. If it is true, it is no more true than saying, “When you love for one man is greater than your love for our country, you are likely part of the problem.”
But I think that both are morally anemic. I would like to explore a different statement.
The first statements are about partisanship (support our team regardless of how you feel about a member of our team). But the second image/statement I believe supports a moral truth:
GOD LOVES PEOPLE MORE THAN INSTITUTIONS
I feel this is a safe statement to make. Now if you don’t find it compelling… no worries and I won’t seek to dissuade you. But if you do agree, let’s go to the next statement:
INSTITUTIONS WERE CREATED FOR THE BENEFIT OF PEOPLE NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND
Some institutions were divine creations (family, government, and church for example) and some are human creations. Regardless of the source, institutions are valued to the extent that they benefit people. The Church was made for people… not people for the Church. Government was created for people, not people for Government. Family was created for people, not people for the Family.
People do struggle with this. Of course, some come from Individualistic cultures and others come from communitarian cultures. I am not seeking to push an agenda of either. I am from the United States which is quite individualistic (usually) and I have served in the Philippines for more than 20 years which is (mostly) communitarian. Both perspectives can become ugly when taken to extremes. I just believe it is important to understand that people and institutions are not equal before God. God expressed His love to us (people) through Jesus Christ firstly, and secondly through establishing institutions for our good.
PEOPLE ARE VALUABLE TO GOD ALWAYS NO MATTER WHAT. iNSTITUTIONS ARE VALUABLE TO GOD ONLY TO THE EXTENT THAT THEY BENEFIT PEOPLE.
National identity can be a tricky one. For some people, their national citizenship has become an intrinsic part of their self-identity. Perhaps the perspective one gets as a missionary is healthier. I have lived approximately 2/3 of my life in one country and 1/3 of my life in another. I am American because of my citizenship and that comes from my birth. My wife is a dual citizen through a combination of birth and a couple of conscious choices. But for neither of us does our citizenship define us. And this is true of all institutions.
INSTITUTIONS ARE NOT FEET.
INSTITUTIONS ARE SHOES.
FEET ARE MORE VALUABLE THAN SHOES
Shoes are for our benefit— our comfort, our protection, and our productivity. They are important. But they are not feet— they are not part of us.
If our family, or our educational system, or our church, or our government tells us to hate or abuse a person… that person is not the problem. It is the institution that is the problem. When we go along with the institution in that case, we become complicit with that problem.
<For those who think that I am supporting an anti-patriotic stand… well, the answer is MAYBE. I served in the military and some see that as a patriotic activity. I generally believe in being a law-abiding good citizen. But, my view of being a good citizen does mean that I support my country. BUT one supports by holding accountable. If one does not hold one’s country accountable, one is not a supporter, but only a fan.>
