Today is National Anthem Day. It coincides with the fact that on this day in 1931, The Star Spangled Banner written by Francis Scott Key became the official National Anthem of the United States. Here’s how it all happened, and it was quite a journey.
“Key and fellow lawyer John S. Skinner, the U.S. Agent for Prisoners of War, sailed from Baltimore on September 5, 1814 on an American truce ship and headed down the Patapsco River hoping to meet the British fleet somewhere in the Chesapeake Bay. They were on a mission of mercy to negotiate the release of the elderly Dr. William Beanes, a civilian non-combatant who had been taken prisoner by the British as they departed Washington, DC after burning the White House, the Capitol, and other government buildings in revenge for the U.S. burning of York (current day Toronto) in April 1813.”1
The War of 1812 was in progress and while aboard the American truce ship, the British attacked Ft. McHenry. For 25 hours, the fort was bombarded with 1800 bombs, each shell weighing 190 pounds. Key’s ship was tethered to a British ship, detained until the battle was over. All Key and the other passengers could do was watch and pray.
On the morning of September 14, 1814, Scott looked through the lens of his spyglass and saw the American flag flying proudly in the breeze. Filled with gratitude and patriotism, Key penned the words of a poem called The Defence [sic] of Fort M’Henry. The lyrics were put to the tune of The Anacreontic Song. Soon, people began referring to it as The Star Spangled Banner, taking the title from the lyrics in the song.
“Throughout the 19th century, “The Star-Spangled Banner” was regarded as the national anthem by most branches of the U.S. armed forces and other groups, but it was not until
1916, and the signing of an executive order by President Woodrow Wilson, that it was formally designated as such. In March 1931, Congress passed an act confirming Wilson’s presidential order, and on March 3 President Hoover signed it into law.”2
Today, most Americans greatly appreciate this song and proudly place their hands over their hearts as it is sung. Unfortunately, there is that small portion of society that takes issue with the song and disrespects it and all who served and live under it by taking a knee. And there are some who for religious reasons believe it is idolatry to pledge allegiance to a flag because they see it as the worship of a nation.
Is it wrong for a Christian to be patriotic? Patriotism, in its simplest form, is a love for our country. Is it wrong to love our country? Let’s make this a bit more complicated. Is it wrong to love anything or anyone except for God? Be careful as you answer!
Ephesians 5:25 says, “Husbands, love your wives…” Jesus said in John 13:34, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another…” And, Jesus said in Matthew 5:44, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies…”
The issue is not that a Christian cannot love other things or other people besides God. The issue is that we cannot love anything or anyone MORE than we love God. Our love for God must be supreme above all else. Jesus said in Mark 12:30, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.” By the way, if anyone wants to argue semantics, the “love” mentioned in all of these verses is the exact same love – agape – the deepest and divine love.
Is there anything wrong with loving America? NO, provided our love for America is not greater than our love for God. We never love country more than God. Can we pledge our allegiance to a flag and our commitment to a country? Absolutely. Romans 13 makes clear our obligation to the authority of that country and 1 Timothy 2 tell us to pray for those leaders.
What happens when the country we love tells us to do something contrary to the Christ we love? The answer is simple. “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29)
1https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/separating-fact-from-fiction-about-the-star-spangled-banner
2https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-star-spangled-banner-becomes-official
Images are taken from https://pixabay.com/, https://www.pexels.com/, or https://unsplash.com/images or created in Windows Copilot. According to the websites, they are Royalty Free and free to be used for our purposes.
