Here’s why I think nationalism blinds us: If in your mind Jesus and your nation are going in the same direction—meaning Jesus is headed a certain direction, He has a certain goal and purpose for the world and the way He’s going to accomplish it and then your nation has the exact same goal and the exact same plan for accomplishing it—well then of course you can follow Jesus, because He’s headed a certain direction and your nation is headed the exact same direction and has the exact same plan to get there, well then of course, absolutely, you can do that. But see, I think that when you read Jesus what you see if, and if you read the apostles and you read the early church documents, what you see is the idea that Jesus is going one way and everyone else is going the opposite way.Jesus is headed true north and everything else—every nation—on this earth is headed south. You cannot go north and south at the same time, because the nations of the world are not going where Jesus is going, and their plan for transforming the world and changing the world and making the world a better place is not His plan.

Source: Why the Church Has to Reject the Pull Toward Politics | RELEVANT Magazine