Zambia celebrates her 53rd
independence anniversary this week. Like every other year, 24th
October brings about all kinds of reflections among us and this year is no
different. Suffice to say the reflections are mixed to say the least. What has
caught my attention in the last few years is the fact that Christians have
become more active in voicing their opinions about national matters. One tune
that has really been played is the need to be patriotic to mother Zambia and
being proud of who we are and what we have. The right response to that rallying
call is a resounding Amen! We should indeed be “proud and free under the flag
of our land” as the writers of our national anthem rightly put it.
My only cause for concern is what
one may call a lack of objectivity in this call and desire to be patriotic
which has at times simply fueled strife among believers and at times made
Christians embarrass themselves before the watching country. This lack of
objectivity I believe springs from a lack of clear definitions i.e. what it
means to be a patriotic citizen. In our country patriotism has come to mean
supporting the characters and polices of the ruling party without questioning or
debating anything. To disagree with people in power is therefore deemed
unpatriotic. No wonder it is common practice to have politicians jump from
party to party depending on who is in government. In fact I know of very few
politicians who have stayed in the same political party (but that’s a
discussion for another day). The reason is simple, our patriotism is not tied
to values but personalities. And because rulers change, our patriotism follows
suite. However if someone’s patriotism is tied to unchanging values and
principles, they will hold on to them regardless of who is in power! As Mark
Twain put it “patriotism is supporting your country all the time and your
government when it deserves it”.
Patriotism is a funny thing, two
people can claim to be patriotic to the same country and yet be at loggerheads
with each other. For instance, in the USA, Obama rallied people behind him and
called them to patriotism with his “yes we can slogan” Trump equally rallied
the people to patriotism with the “make America great again” slogan. Both claim
to be patriotic and called others to be and yet they are polar opposites in
character and policies. Hence, the only objective way you can judge patriotism
is by the values a person holds on to, not the people they agree with or
support. This is why I particularly like the pledge of allegiance that the
pupils at our primary school recite;
“I
pledge allegiance to the Zambian flag and to the republic for which it stands,
one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice all.”
These are the values we should
all stand for and fight for at all cost. It is for these same values that our
freedom fighters were willing to sacrifice their lives. We dare not belittle their
sacrifices by making patriotism about partisan politics and tribalism! Henry IV
of England once said “patriotism must be founded on great principles and
supported by great virtue”. The pupils also recite another pledge which has far
greater importance and eternal value. This is a pledge to the Christian flag;
“I
pledge allegiance to the Christian flag and to the savior for whose kingdom it
stands, one savoir crucified, risen and coming again with life and liberty for
all who believe”
The ultimate independence is
freedom from the power and captivity of sin, which only comes about through the
life, work, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And those who
believe in Christ need to realise that they are Christians first and therefore
citizens of heaven. Our Zambian citizenship is temporal for we are only passing
through this land. Yet while the Lord keeps us here, we are called to be salt
and light and to make such an impact that on lookers will say, ‘these
Christians have turned Zambia upside down with the gospel!’
Happy independence to all.
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