Pride is not a Good Guide
- Jerrold Reams
- 3 hours ago
- 6 min read
As I finish this post, we are in the last third of “Pride Month,” more appropriately known as June. I wouldn’t bother with this if I hadn’t been inundated with posts and such, both in favor of and not in favor of the idea. Pride is not a good guide; history repeatedly demonstrates this to be true.
The type of “pride” most often mentioned (condemned) in Scripture is not to be confused with the idea of one taking what we in the English language often refer to as “pride” in one’s work; equating to taking a healthy satisfaction in a job well done; something that honors God (Galatians 6:4, Ecclesiastes 3:22, Proverbs 14:23, Colossians 3:23). There are many Hebrew terms that are rendered as “pride” in the King James Version of the Scriptures; they all have to do with arrogance, haughtiness, etc.; all things that God hates, and it always leads to a fall of some sort at some level; often destruction (Proverbs 11:2, 13:10, 14:3, 29:23, Isaiah 25:11, Mark 7:22, 1 Timothy 3:6, and many others). The celebration of one destructive behavior with another destructive behavior is certainly not a good idea, and it is not going to lead to any good outcomes for the celebrators; people that God loves and wants better for.
On that note, let us be clear that God does not hate homosexuals (and neither do I, nor should anyone else!), any more than he hates liars, murderers, thieves, adulterers, fornicators, or any other kind of sinner (that would be everyone of the human race except for Jesus, including you and me). Just as with any other sort of sinful behavior, He hates the sin and loves the sinner (He demonstrated this clearly on the cross), including the homosexual sinner. Sins associated with pride month are no more responsible for necessitating Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice than the sins committed by any straight person. The sins associated with pride month are no less forgivable than any other sin.
Let us at the same time be very clear, however, that God does not approve of or condone homosexual behavior. Scripture is clear on this (Leviticus 18:22, 20:13, Romans 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9). * Yes, people may indeed have desires for and tendencies toward certain behaviors, but that does not excuse the behavior; much less make it something to be celebrated, nor mean that it was something that they were necessarily born with. For example, many people do indeed have violent tendencies; however, if they simply follow their tendencies, follow their heart’s desires as it were, they may hurt people and may wind up in jail, and rightfully so. However, no one was born as a violent offender; people who become violent offenders do so by choice. Also, some individuals may be born into families genetically predisposed to a high occurrence of alcoholism. However, if these individuals choose to never consume alcohol (even if they may be tempted to do so at some point), they never become alcoholics; they were not born as alcoholics. People that become alcoholics only do so after choosing to consume excessive amounts of alcohol. I actually know a set of identical twins where one is gay and one is not; they are genetically identical and were raised in the same household. I could list more examples; however, I think I have made the point clear that even though tendencies may indeed be present, choices are ultimately the key, and that each individual (starting with me) is responsible for his/her own decisions.
I speak with humility, respect, and love here as a sinner who is saved by grace, but the truth needs to be spoken plainly regarding this matter. What is embodied in the concept of pride month is a perversion, and it is harmful. A perversion is to wrongfully use something other than for its intended use. Sex is very good for many reasons; God has provided good guidelines for sex. Masculinity and femininity are also very good; likewise, God has provided good guidelines for these as well. God does not set these guidelines to torment or punish us; He does so out of His love for us and for our own benefit, much like we do for our children. For example, when I was a small child, due to my curious and explorative tendencies, I may have wanted to play unsupervised and outside of the boundaries that my parents set (such as in the street) because it looked fun; however, they knew better than I did and set the boundaries accordingly for my own protection. Playing is good for children, but outside of proper parental boundaries, it can become very, very bad very quickly. Those things celebrated with pride month are outside of God’s good intentions and are very harmful to individuals as well as to society as a whole, especially those individuals being “celebrated.” When good things are twisted and become harmful to the crown jewel of God’s creation (that would be us), it is not something to be celebrated.
One other thing that one may be asking as they read this: Do I think all gays are going to Hell? Not any more than I think anyone still actively engaging in any other sin is necessarily going to Hell (which is probably every believer to at least some extent if we are honest with ourselves; let's not forget James 2:10 either). There is but one requirement for salvation, and any person, including those actively engaging in/holding on to/still stuck in any sinful behavior, who has trusted Christ as Savior (Acts 16:31) and believed the Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) has met that requirement and therefore has the irrevocable gift of everlasting life; period (Romans 11:29). However, that said, God does indeed very much want better for all of us and He will not bless the sin of homosexual behavior, or any other sinful behavior for that matter. God will not condemn believers (Romans 8:1), homosexual or otherwise; however, He will chastise (discipline/punish) believers for their actions [and lack thereof] in order to bring us out of destructive behavior and make us better people, more like Himself (Hebrews 12:5-11). Most importantly, in the next life, God rewards the believer for the good he/she has done in his/her life. I do believe that we miss out on potential eternal reward that we could have had by choosing to hang on to destructive things that God desired to free us from, and that we will obtain this reward if we [by His power] let go of them and let Him free us from them (1 Cor. 3:11-15).
June is a beautiful month; the month when the earth (here in the northern hemisphere, where most of us reside) receives the most energy from the sun. It is the month with the most hours of daylight, the month with the most potential biological productivity, etc. It is a great month for celebration. I would encourage all of us for the remaining days of this June, and in every June to come (but not just in June), to continuously—not just for one day here and there—celebrate God’s Creation. Celebrate our families, our freedoms, and those who sacrificed for them. Celebrate the healthy diversity in humankind (that actually promotes genuine unity), starting with masculinity and femininity, then our various unique gifts, strengths, and other unique and beautiful differences/variations. Celebrate the accomplishments of ingenuity and hard work (by ALL people groups of all times, and of BOTH sexes). Celebrate our friendships. Celebrate our victories. Celebrate the strength (that comes only from the Lord) to constructively face our challenges and have true victory in and over them. Celebrate the fact that we are not dead in our sins are not dead in our sins and Jesus has given us victory over them and everlasting life (Ephesians 2:1-10), if we simply believe the Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Acts 16:31) and trust Him for it. Let us celebrate God’s truth and life-giving gifts to us, not Satan’s lies and robberies that lead to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14).
*Some argue that Jesus does not [at least directly] mention or forbid homosexual behavior in the Gospels. This is true; however, this is in no way indicative that He would have condoned such behavior. There would have been no need for Him to mention it; He was talking to the Jews who were already quite familiar with Mosaic Law that clearly condemned it; it would have been rather redundant, to say the least. Note that He does not directly mention extortion, substance abuse, embezzlement, idolatry, as well as many other behaviors and actions that we know to be harmful and sinful.
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God bless.