First published through The Paris News on Sept. 10, 2018. The article can be found on their website at http://theparisnews.com/opinion/article_7858e138-b516-11e8-ad75-530419c836da.html and was backdated.

It seems people are more concerned about a football player kneeling during the national anthem than standing for Biblical truth. It also seems people are more worried about a business decision to use a person who has peacefully protested practices he believes are immoral and unethical than they are about standing for God.

I’ve seen recent social media posts by friends and family showing disdain for Colin Kaepernick’s decision to begin kneeling during the anthem in protest of the the oppression of people of color in the United States and ongoing issues with police brutality. Though he sought the approval from many veterans, people despise his protest, which on the national stage has been seen as being disrespectful to the military and the nation. So they protest the NFL and a sports brand.

If we saw aggressive compassion for Jesus rather than a divisive issue, we might worry less about such issues because they most likely would not exist.

How many have made this Nike campaign into a bigger deal than it should be, but say nothing about the Catholic church’s sex scandal?

Yet as members of the Catholic church are protesting across the United States, speaking out against sexual abuse by church leadership, crickets chirp on social media. There’s an eerie silence, aside from angry posts about Kaepernick kneeling and the occasional Tasty recipe.

“The campaign is pushing for survivor justice, transparency, accountability and civil recourse,” according to Washington’s Top News regarding the allegations against the Catholic church.

“Lorenz says they are also calling out leaders within the church, including Cardinal Donald Wuerl and Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.”

It seems people have forgotten we are “one nation under God.” They have forgotten that God comes before country.

“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith — that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” — Philippians 3:8-10.

We should care more about God than we do about one guy upset with social injustice. That does not mean we should not care about righting injustice. It means we should look at the situation the way God does.

No brand, sports star or country should be worshipped as an idol. Remember, God has told us idolatry is a sin.

Patriotism is love for one’s country and there is nothing wrong with loving your country.

I love the USA and am ecstatic about the freedoms we all share. However, if it comes between God and my country, I’ll choose God faster than you can say treason.