As the world continues its fall and humankind runs up and down the earth, deceiving and being deceived, God grieves. Scripture is there, living, and summing up the matter: “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12). Man twists the word of God to mean whatever he wants, the result of a mind that does not hold the knowledge of God. We cannot say it enough; the lie is that people are getting better. It is a lie, because the Word says, “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:13). One of man’s biggest rants is patriotism, which has overtaken, in minds and hearts that reject Scripture, God’s two greatest commands. The subtleness of the lie almost gives it a form of godliness, as no one holds it up to Christ’s teachings.

Dictionary.com defines patriotism as “devoted love, support, and defense of one’s country; national loyalty.” It sounds harmless. There is nothing inherently sinful about loving where one lives or is from. Wherever we are in the world, God created that place for us to enjoy, to share, and to enjoy each other, along with God’s other beautiful creations. Yet evil has penetrated people’s hearts and begun to turn their minds into Satan’s playgrounds.

Patriotism has become a word used to cause division, justify hate, and attack people who reject idol worship. It is an excuse to beat people into submission. Patriotism is an idol of the desperately wicked. It is about flag worship, national pride above all else, and the glorification of war. War comes from corruption in man. James asks: “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?” (4:1). The cause of wars is sin, man wanting what he wants to satisfy his appetite for money, murder, property, material possessions, and revenge. There is no mercy, no love, and no peace, although scripture says, “Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it” (Psalm 34:14). They violently push patriotism and spit on God’s doctrine.

The world ranks patriotism third, behind faith and family. Most use the word “country” instead. Patriotism holds a significant place in man’s gospel, which differs greatly from God’s gospel. In the minds and hearts of the people, patriotism ranks above love of God and neighbor. While it appears the great patriots are full of faith in God, as some use God’s name on occasion, their actions prove they have none. The faithful person keeps God’s commands.

The hardened heart doesn’t accept the word of God. It makes up its own gospel or tries to confuse people by turning Scripture into meaningless words. That is why Paul warns, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). The road that leads to hell is broad because they turn to and serve lies. The wicked hold a bible in one hand and hate in the other, and they try to make the two fit together. They never will.

The patriot’s god is pride. He pledges allegiance to a flag, a song, a piece of earth, an ideal, and anything that is not human. He throws God’s name in to trick the foolish, but his heart cannot know the things of God because it has become stone. He rushes to talk about defending his country, yet he hates his neighbor, seeks revenge, and rejoices in humanity’s downfall. The patriot has misplaced the order of things in his stony heart. He cannot grasp the two greatest commands as stated by Jesus:

Jesus does not mention patriotism before or after. The hard-hearted have placed it in their gospel, which is from the pits of hell. It does not fit with the glorious gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The next time the spiritually dead try to guilt you with the “You hate this country” lies, repeat the two greatest commandments that came from the mouth of Jesus to the ever-hypocritical scribes and Pharisees. They knew the law but didn’t have Jesus in their hearts. Jesus says, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:8).

The proud patriot ranks family second. There is much in Jesus’s teachings about the family unit and how he intends it to be a godly one. Let’s first look at marriage. The husband and wife are one. God said it and ordained it. “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). If we get this right, we’ve done well. We obey God when we value and care for the family.

Jesus gives perhaps the greatest definition of family. He says, “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Matthew 12:50). That is Jesus’s response to the disciple who told him, “Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee” (v. 47). Jesus called true believers his family. They were his spiritual family.

If by family, people mean spiritual family, they get it. However, most often people refer to blood relatives. Yes, Jesus wants us to care for our earthly family: “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8). Family is important to Jesus and should be to us, but more meaningful to God is when we obey his command to love humankind as we love ourselves. Why? Loving our neighbors, even when they are enemies, requires deeper devotion to Christ. Such demands much effort. It is easier for people to love and care for their families than to love and care for their neighbors. God gives no credit for doing what is easiest. Pay attention to the following verses:

Hypocrites hated Jesus for speaking what they did not want to hear. They saw themselves as superior to everyone else, but Jesus shone the light on them and found them wanton. Like the Laodiceans, they have no idea they are “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17). They think they are alive but are spiritually dead. The modern-day hypocrite is the same, always talking about faith, family, and country, but does not know how to love anyone who does not remind him of himself. They are the embodiment of the hypocrite, who “are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27).

Blind. Ignorant. Self-deceived. Those are the ways of man in his error. Some people are blind to the truth. Others have chosen to be ignorant. Many deceive themselves because they want an ideal to be true so badly that they convince themselves their own words are true. In no case will people in any of the three categories dupe God. Those who continue to live in blindness, ignorance, or self-deceit will not be able to stand in the judgment and, in the end, will receive their just due. Being patriotic is not a command from God. Being obedient to the Word, however, is. The Word makes it clear that the two greatest commands are to love God with everything in us and to love people as we love ourselves. If those two commands are not the basis of everything we do, then all else is in vain and does not please the Lord. In the absence of love is the absence of God and eternal life. The pride of patriotism is a deflection from the true gospel of Christ. It is a dark avenue that leads away from loving God and neighbor. It sounds good to the blind, ignorant, and hard-hearted soul, but it comes from below, not from above. The truth: “Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10).