Are We Really "Under"?

One Nation Under God

Most of us have said the words so many times we barely hear them anymore.

One nation under God.

But lately I've been thinking about one particular word.

Under.

We tend to focus on God. But what are we actually saying when we call ourselves a nation under God?

Under isn't beside. It isn't simply acknowledging that God exists. And it isn't asking God to bless whatever we've already decided to do.

To be under an authority is to acknowledge that authority as higher than our own.

That changes the meaning considerably.

If we are truly one nation under God, then government isn't the highest authority. Neither is the President. Congress. The courts. Political parties.

Not even We the People.

The words “under God” weren't added to the Pledge until 1954, but the principle is much older. The Declaration of Independence speaks of rights “endowed by their Creator.”

That's important.

Government didn't give us those rights. It recognized rights that already existed because their source was higher than government itself.

That's what under means.

And it applies to more than government.

If I expect my leaders to recognize an authority higher than themselves, then I have to recognize that same authority in my own life.

I don't get to demand humility from government while refusing it myself.

“One nation under God” doesn't mean God automatically approves of everything America does.

Quite the opposite.

America can be wrong. Presidents can be wrong. Courts can be wrong. Majorities can be wrong.

I can be wrong.

Because none of us occupies the highest position.

We are under.

Under His authority. Under His judgment. Under His standard.

And, by His grace, under His care.

Those are easy words to recite.

Maybe it's time we remembered what we're actually saying.