Three Flags and a Cross

I typically don’t get involved in political discussions or make political posts because I have friends with very different views than mine who I care about and respect. I won’t claim to be politically correct because I know that I’m not, and to be honest, the whole political correctness thing really gets on my nerves sometimes. That being said, I also don’t go out of my way to offend people. Sometimes, with some people, we just have to agree to disagree and have somewhat of an unspoken agreement not to bring up certain topics. If they post something I find offensive on social media, I just keep scrolling (usually), and I’m sure I’ve probably posted something they don’t prefer and most of the time, they keep scrolling. I probably have someone in my Facebook friends list or someone who reads my blog that has been offended by my views regarding God, the Bible, and sin. That’s life. We aren’t all going to agree 100% of the time. It’s how we handle the disagreements that tells a lot about who we are as people.

Over the course of the past couple weeks, there has been a lot of controversy in the news media and my Facebook news feed regarding issues with racism and the Supreme Court’s decision on the topic of gay marriage – the Confederate flag and the rainbow flag. I have friends who are on both sides of these controversies. Friends that I respect whether I agree with them or not. I’m not going to spend a lot of time writing out my arguments for or against either one.

Regarding the Confederate flag and the Civil War, I have family members that fought on both sides, so for me, for better or worse, both the Confederate flag and the American flag are a part of my family’s history. I don’t know whether the family members on either side were racist or what their motivations for fighting were or even whether they chose to fight or were forced to fight. I own both flags, but I only fly one – the American flag. The Confederate flag may be a part of my family’s history, but the American flag is the only national flag that I pledge my allegiance to, and I proudly fly it outside my house.

I’ll spend a bit more time talking about my views on racism. I turn on the news and see news stories online that are filled with incidents of racial tension and violence. Then I look around the auditorium at church and see people of many different races and ethnic backgrounds all together in a spirit of unity. Racial unity is something that I’m very passionate about because I have so many friends that look different than I do and are from different ethnic backgrounds than I am. Life would be boring if we were all the same and had all the same experiences. The church I was raised in and have gotten back into since we moved back to Florida is a very diverse church. There are people who can trace their family tree back to the founding of our country and others who are first generation Americans. Some have very light skin, others very dark, and just about everything in between. No, I won’t claim to be color blind (regarding race) and it really annoys me when people do. To claim not to see the visible differences is a lie. My view, and the way I was raised by my parents and by the example of my church, is to see the differences and find them beautiful. All people are made in the image of God. While God made our physical bodies and formed us when we were in our mothers’ wombs, the outward appearance isn’t how He judges us. I Samuel 16:7 says, “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”” Man looks at the outward. That’s a big problem today. People are often judge by the color of their skin. Sometimes it’s the innocent judged as guilty in the court of popular opinion, and sometimes it’s the guilty judged as innocent. Often, people find themselves walking on eggshells trying to avoid saying anything that might be even the slightest bit perceived as racist. My opinion on race is that all people are made in the image of God and have the same opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as Savior. Therefore, Heaven will be filled with people of all races and our church pews should reflect that. There shouldn’t be “white churches” and “black churches”. There should just be churches that preach the Word of God. Period. All people should be welcomed with open arms. I would like to make a distinction though. I think it’s perfectly fine if a church separates itself for language purposes. For example, if there is a large number of Japanese speaking people in a community and they form a church and preach the Bible in Japanese. They aren’t separating because they don’t want to attend church with non-Japanese. They are wanting to hear the Bible preached in a language that they understand better. Our country has been described as a “melting pot” as we have many people who are originally from many other countries who have come together to live in this country. Because of this, we have people who speak many different languages, and I believe that everyone should have an opportunity to hear God’s Word in a language that they can understand. It would be frustrating to be in a church and only understand half of what the pastor was saying. But for English speaking churches, I think that the church should be reflective of the surrounding community as far as race is concerned. If you live in a diverse community like where I live, the churches should also be diverse. If the area is less diverse, the church may not have as many of one race as another, but it should be welcoming of all races. I Corinthians 12:12 says, “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.” We are ONE body. It doesn’t say one body of this race and another of that race. We are called to unity in Christ. I’m of the opinion that as a country, we should call ourselves to unity as Americans. We need to do away with all the labels and hyphens that separate us into groups and just see ourselves as Americans. Once we get that part figured out, the rest will be easier to tackle. Start with uniting our country and embracing what we have in common.

Regarding homosexual marriage (the rainbow flag)…as you know if you know me or have read my blog. I am a Bible believing, conservative Christian. If God, through the Bible, calls something a sin, who am I to disagree? That being said, Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. The Bible doesn’t call Christians to judge the world or to be the moral compass. We are called to share God’s love and the good news of Jesus and the salvation that He has given through His sacrifice on the cross. No, that doesn’t mean we should soften the message of the Bible into some feel-good message. If there wasn’t sin, we wouldn’t need a Savior. We are all sinners, and in God’s eyes, every sin, regardless of how “big” or “small” we think it is compared to another, is the same – less than His perfection. James 2:10 says, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” Thankfully that’s not the end of the story. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” So many times today, I read people’s posts, blogs, etc. that say things like Jesus would do (fill in the blank) if He were in (fill in the situation). Most of the time these statements make me cringe. Let’s just stick to what Jesus actually did in the situations He actually encountered as recorded in the Bible. I also cringe when they take His words out of context. One example is when people are bashing Christians for speaking out against a particular sin. People will come back with statements about not casting stones unless you’re perfect, which is the paraphrase of what Jesus did say, but it’s not all He said in that passage. There was a woman who had been caught in adultery (though given she was caught in the act, you have to wonder where the man was and why the religious leaders didn’t bring him to Jesus too) and the religious leaders were trying to trip Jesus up by asking him if He thought that she should be stoned as the law stated. John 8:7-11 says, “So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”” Yes, the message of Jesus is one of love and compassion. His gift of salvation comes with no strings attached, BUT once we receive that gift, He does not expect us to continue in our sin. No, that doesn’t mean Christians are perfect. We’re humans that struggle with the sin nature that we were born with. All that being a Christian means (regarding sin) is that our sins have been forgiven and that the Holy Spirit lives inside our souls and will help us resist the temptation to sin. I Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” Christians are tempted to sin just like everyone else, and we don’t always take that way of escape. I’m thankful for God’s longsuffering grace that forgives even when I fail over and over.

I titled this “Three Flags and a Cross” because there is much controversy surrounding two flags in our country and the issues they represent – the Confederate flag and the rainbow flag. And it is my prayer that we find unity under the third flag – the American flag – and in the cross where Jesus sacrificed Himself so that ALL people, regardless of race, background, or the sins they’ve committed, could be saved. Please join me in praying for our country as we are in a time of increasing inner turmoil on many fronts.

I pledge allegiance to the Flag

     of the United States of America,

and to the Republic for which it stands:

     one Nation under God, indivisible,

With Liberty and Justice for all.