Whose side are you on?

And then this, while Joshua was there near Jericho: He looked up and saw right in front of him a man standing, holding his drawn sword. Joshua stepped up to him and said, “Whose side are you on—ours or our enemies’?”
He said, “Neither. I’m commander of GOD’s army. I’ve just arrived.” Joshua fell, face to the ground, and worshiped. He asked, “What orders does my Master have for his servant?”
GOD’s army commander ordered Joshua, “Take your sandals off your feet. The place you are standing is holy.” Joshua did it. (Joshua 5:13-15 MSG)

In God we trust. God bless America. God please help our team win the game.

Every time I hear these sorts of statements, I cringe. We speak and live as though God plays favorites. We think God is concerned about the outcome of some mundane sporting event. We assume that since America was founded on “Christian morals” that God has more concern for us than other nations. We think that God’s blessings on America should come no matter what. After all, we are far superior than the other heathen nations.

This same arrogance existed among the Israelites. They had assumptions about God’s presence in their lives and actions. But Joshua’s encounter with this spiritual soldier caught my attention. One would think that Joshua’s question, “Whose side are you on?” would emit a response of, “Yours. Go. Be victorious. We will be with you.” But it wasn’t. The Commander said he wasn’t on a side. He wasn’t overly concerned about the battle that was about to take place. Even when Joshua pressed him for a word from Yahweh, the soldier didn’t give Joshua any marching orders or even a word of encouragement. He gave him the same word that Yahweh gave Moses—“Holy ground requires holy action.”

Instead, he cared more about holiness than victory. His concern was making sure that Joshua was approaching God properly. Here in the midst of this pivotal battle with one of the most fortified cities in the Promised Land, Yahweh seemingly had other things on his mind. Maybe I am stretching this but here is what I learn about God:

God is not a national God. He is not on the side of countries. There are not pagans versus the chosen ones.
God is the God of goodness. He is on the side of whoever is right. He is also concerned about how we come before Him and how we treat one another more than he cares who wins a game, which country is the most affluent, etc.

Our prayers and wishes should change. Asking for blessings is not necessarily bad. But asking that we are holy and pleasing before God in everything we do is what should drive our prayers and our actions, not some sense of divine allegiance.