Early Christians were the first to place religious convictions above tribal loyalty, wrote Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury.

“For the first time in human history, individuals claimed the liberty to define the limits of their political loyalty, and to test that loyalty by spiritual and ethical standards.” (Rowan Williams, “The Two Ways,” Plough Quarterly, Autumn 2017).

In answering accusations against them, one early group responded. They were not rebels against the state and had no wish to overthrow it, they said. They would pay taxes to it. They would not, however, worship the emperor. “They would not grant the state their absolute allegiance.”

Throughout history, states and empires have come and gone. Some have established centers of civilizing influence. All demanded some form of loyalty to the state apparatus.

The early Jesus followers called for a loyalty higher than the tribe, higher than whatever state was in existence at the time. They proclaimed their allegiance to his teachings and said those teachings took precedence over any other authority.

A question for us today, the religious and the non-religious alike, is whether we worship some political cause or, instead, give allegiance to greater causes like justice, mercy, and serving the widows and orphans.