"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy. Bellamy had hoped that the pledge would be used by citizens in any country. In its original form it read: "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." In 1923, Bellamy’s pledge became uniquely American when the words, "of the United States of America" were added. But in my opinion the pledge of allegiance wasn’t finished until 1954 when President Eisenhower, in response the threat of communism, encouraged Congress to add the words "under God", creating the 31-word pledge we say today. [1]
Bellamy's daughter objected to the addition of the words “under God to our pledge and she hasn’t been the only one to object. Over the last 50 years or so prayer has been removed from classrooms and commandments have been removed from courthouses. Blue laws that once encouraged people to set aside Sunday morning for worship and prayer have been ignored or repealed. Civic events and gatherings that once began with a moment of prayer now begin with a moment of silence. Our Nation is becoming increasingly heathen; immorality pollutes our people and corruption plagues our politicians. Clearly there is a good part of our nation that objects to being “under God”.
I know I run the risk of sounding unpatriotic on the day after we celebrated the birth of our nation, but I think we have to ask ourselves, “can the Christian, in good conscience, still pledge allegiance to the United States of America?” To help us answer that question, let’s consider how Daniel answered the question in Daniel 6:1-23.
When King Nebuchadnezzar defeated Jerusalem, he brought prisoners of the war back to the king’s palace in Babylon. In Daniel 1:4 these prisoners are described as “young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace.” For three years these young men were taught the language, culture, and customs of the Babylonians so that they would be equipped to serve in their new empire. Among them was a young man by the name of Daniel.
As our chapter begins the proud Babylonian Empire that once dominated the world has fallen and the Persian Empire ruled by king Darius has taken its place. In verses 1-2 of our text we learn that Daniel is given a position of authority in the new world order. We read, “1 It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, 2 with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel.” Daniel had served the Babylonian Empire for 60 years, now at the age of 80, he was to serve the Persians.
Like the Babylonians before them, the Persian empire was full of idolatry. Zoroastrianism that focused on a person’s good thoughts, good words, good deeds was the prominent religion of the empire. However, as the empire grew so did its idolatry as it adopted and assimilated the pagan beliefs of their newly acquired territories. It seems the empire became so tolerant of all beliefs that religion became a matter of personal preference; everyone had a different god and everyone was o.k. with it. It seems, religion became almost synonymous with superstition. That’s why, latter in verse 16, king Darius says to Daniel, “16 May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!”
Idolatry was not the only problem that plagued the Persian empire. The empire was full of immoral people. We get a hint of their immorality when we read at the end of verse 2 that the reason why Darius appointed 120 satraps to rule throughout the land was “so that the king might not suffer loss.” Darius knew in a nation the size of the Persian empire there were all sorts of opportunities for dishonest people to take advantage of the system and, if left unchecked, those people would bleed the nation dry of its resources.
In addition to idolatry and immorality the Persian empire was also full of political corruption. The political corruption of the Persian empire takes center stage in Daniel chapter 6. When Daniel’s fellow politicians learn that he was to be promoted above them they become jealous. They try to dig up dirt on Daniel in the hopes of getting him removed from office. But, try as they might, we are told in verse 4, “They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.” What kind of a guy do you think Daniel was? I mean, if a group of politicians at the highest levels of the worlds most powerful government can’t find dirt on him, what kind of guy do you think Daniel was? Conversely, what kind of people try to smear the service record of a guy like Daniel?
In their lust for power, these backstabbing politicians resort to deception. They admit they aren’t going to be able to find any dirt on Daniel, he is far too principled a man for that. So instead they plan to use his principles against him. These deceiving politicians tell king Darius that he should, “7 issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or man during the next thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the lions’ den.” They pretend to have the best interest of the nation in mind, but in truth they have only their own interests in mind. They know that Daniel will not compromise his faith. Again, think about what that says about Daniel that even his worst enemies know he is a man of uncompromised conviction. Conversely again, think about what sort of people would set a trap for a guy like Daniel. They knew Daniel would not obey this edict and as soon as Daniel bent his knee before the one true God, they have him thrown into the lion’s den.
This is the type of nation that Daniel served. It was a nation that was becoming increasingly heathen while immorality polluted its people and corruption plagued its politicians. The nation that Daniel served was as godless, immoral, and corrupt as our own. You would be hard pressed to prove that the Persian empire was of more noble character than the United States of America. That’s why I suggested that we consider Daniel as we try to determine whether or not a Christian in good conscience can pledge allegiance to a nation like ours.
There are some who would suggest a nation like ours no longer deserves our allegiance. They invite us to see our nation as an evil institution that deserves to be mocked and ridiculed, scorned and derided. They would have us believe that open rebellion, rioting in the streets, and the looting of businesses is what a nation like ours deserves. Such people are anarchists who have little to no regard for the fourth commandment that instructs to honor the authorities that have been placed over us. While you may have joined in mockery, scorn, and derision against our nation I do not believe there are any active anarchists among us. I think, when it comes to a nation such as ours, we are more likely to be tempted by passive anarchy. The passive anarchist doesn’t rebel against their civic duties; they just neglect them. The passive anarchist doesn’t fight against the laws of our land; they just fail to defend them. The passive anarchist doesn’t tear our society down; they just don’t do anything to build it up. We may not be active anarchists, but as passive anarchists it kind of seems we have already decided that our nation does not deserve our allegiance.
Let’s see how Daniel reacted to being thrown into the lion’s Den. It seems an odd thing to say. The typical reaction to being thrown into a lions’ den is blood curdling screams. However, due to an act of God’s merciful providence that was not Daniel’s reaction. Early the next morning the king rushed to the lions’ den and called out to Daniel. In verse 21 we read, “21 Daniel answered, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king.” Daniel had been stabbed in the back by corrupt politicians and sentenced to death by a king with a god complex. Yet the first thing Daniel says is, “O king, live forever!” Despite the realization that the nation he serves is seriously flawed, Daniel continues to pledge his allegiance to the king.
Why!?! To answer that question, we have to see the nations of the earth as Daniel saw them. Early in his career Daniel explained his view of the nations to king Nebuchadnezzar with these words, “The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; in your hands he has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all.”[2] Later Daniel would beg that same king to, “acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes.”[3] 30 years latter Daniel would tell another king, “the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor.”[4] Daniel was able to pledge his allegiance to his nation because Daniel knew his nation like all nations of the earth was given its authority by God and even though his nation like all the nations of the earth was full of idolatry, polluted with immorality, and plagued with corruption, all things by the way which Daniel as a God fearing believer abhorred and in no way agreed with or supported, still Daniel knew that the Most High was sovereign over the nations of the earth. Daniel knew that the Most High would use those nations to preserve, protect, and prosper His people. Daniel pledged his allegiance to his nation because Daniel understood his nation, like all the nations of the earth, was under God.
If you are like me, Daniel’s pledge of allegiance to his nation has revealed a need for repentance in your own life. I know I have not always honored and respected my government officials. More than that, I have grumbled and complained about the way things are and yet I have done little to nothing to make things better. I like to think of myself as a patriotic fellow but the truth is I have done a poor job of pledging my allegiance to my God given nation. If you find you need to make a similar confession, I suggest you turn to Jesus with me and seek forgiveness from the one who not only gave to Caesar what was Caesar’s but also gave His life on the cross to pay for our sins against our God given nation.
Daniel shows us that the Christian can, in good conscience, absolutely pledge allegiance to the United States of America. Like the Babylonian and Persian Empires, the United States of America is seriously flawed, it is becoming increasingly heathen; immorality pollutes our people and corruption plagues our politicians, but the United States of America, like all other nations of the earth, is a nation under God. When we pledge allegiance to the United States of America, we are in effect pledging our allegiance to God. We are saying that despite our nations many many problems we trust that our God will use our nation to preserve, protect and prosper His people. When we pledge allegiance to the United States of America, we are acknowledging that our nation is one nation under God. Amen.
[1] This information was provided by https://www.ushistory.org/documents/pledge.htm
[2] Daniel 2:37-38
[3] Daniel 4:25
[4] Daniel 5:18