I was listening to a conservative news station as it explained the news of the day. Every piece of news regarding Trump's actions were reported with gusto about how wonderful he was. Over against that, the liberal news station had nothing but evil to say of anything Trump did that day. Why is that? It's a matter of allegiance. To whom are you allied?
We all operate on allegiances. Allegiance is loyalty or devotion to a person, group, cause, etc. All of us have loyalties to various things or causes. They inform our perspectives. In the case of Trump, we have something called "TDS" -- Trump Derangement Syndrome. It may refer to those so allied with Trump that they cannot see anything wrong with Trump. It may be those so dedicated to opposing Trump, that they can't see anything right with Trump. But our allegiances typically run deeper. Perhaps our allegiance is with the party -- Republicans for the GOP or Democrats for the Dems. Perhaps it is with the nation -- Americans for America. Others are for their race or their culture or their family or ... well, you get the idea. You can see how their response to, say, what Trump does might vary based on their allegiance.
Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matt 6:21). That's it, the same question. Where is your allegiance? Is it with Trump (or the other side)? Is it with your party or your nation? Is it with your spouse or your money? Or is it Christ? You see, your allegiance alters your views and reactions. If your allegiance is with anyone other than Christ, your reactions will be seriously flawed. So, give that a thought. Are you reactions to life aimed at an allegiance to Christ, or to something ... less? Anything other than Christ is called idolatry.
1 comment:
I too have noticed that extreme allegiance among the TV news stations--both the right and the left. To me, it seems that each reports on events with a mixture of accuracy and bias; only by viewing both "sides" with great discernment can I ascertain the sensible middle ground.
In addition to political parties, I can think of many other such loyalties--to a sports team (“Go, Birds!”), a particular version of the Bible (“KJV Onlyism”), one’s alma mater (“my school rocks!”), a religious sect or cult (“the faithful”), a political leader (“Heil Hitler!”), a social cause (“give peace a chance” or “save the whales”), a musical band (i.e. “Deadheads” or “Parrotheads”), or one’s homeland (“I pledge allegiance to the flag…”). They are all examples of “Hooray for our side”--that oftentimes blind allegiance that creates zealous fanatics and fanatical zealots of many of us. As you say, however, our greatest dedication must be to Jesus Christ, who will outreign and outlive any temporal, earthly cause that might capture our hearts and minds. The more I esteem and treasure Him--and allow that highest allegiance to influence my attitudes and actions--the more those lesser devotions lose their propensity to direct my life choices and priorities.
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