Tolerance For All?

We hear a lot about "pride" during the month of June, and not in a good way.  In fact, that word can be used positively when we speak of, say, civic pride, or an expression of approval for the accomplishments of another.  But, pride over sexuality is certainly problematic.  The Bible says in 1st Peter 5:

5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Humility can be a helpful position when we are dealing with those who do not accept your beliefs in Christ and are confrontational toward you.  Pride, in the Biblical sense, can escalate a discussion but humility can calm things down.  We are called to reflect a dependence on God and a respect for those with whom we engage.  We can exhibit an attitude of conviction with compassion, while seeking to reflect the nature of Christ.

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In John chapter 16, we find that Jesus is asking a pointed question to His disciples, as He prepares
them for tough times to come:
31 Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe?
32 Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.
33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

Things have become so outrageous in the support of the LGBTQ agenda that one group in Boston has decided to counter the city's gay pride parade by organizing another event - a "straight pride" parade, and the Washington Examiner reports that it is "mocking 'the identity politics of the left.'"

Now, I'll say it straight up, if you will, I don't see any evidence that this is a Christian event.  But, its very existence can certainly cause us to think a bit.  The Examiner article says:

Mark Sahady, one of the organizers, wrote on Facebook they had to file a discrimination complaint with the city to get approved. The parade is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 31.

Sahady also says, "This is also about free speech. In cities with Democratic administrations the 1st amendment rights of those who don't agree with the politics of the left are not respected. We are going to change all of that by using their language against them..."

LifeSiteNews states:

While LGBT advocates assail the event as “homophobic,” and the organizers have a history of events designed to tweak Boston’s left-wing sensibilities, the proposed parade does pose serious questions about the LGBT lobby’s logical consistency in demanding recognition of homosexual pride while condemning the very concept of heterosexual pride.

In Boston’s case, it also draws attention to city officials’ elevation of LGBT pride above other values and beliefs, such as flying LGBT flags above city hall while forbidding Christian flags.

This is a serious issue in Boston, and within the past few weeks, Liberty Counsel's Mat Staver has been arguing against the denial of a request to fly a Christian flag at City Hall.  The request was made by Hal Shutluff, on behalf of his organization, Camp Constitution, which is a Christian group.

The Liberty Counsel website states:

The city censored the religious viewpoint of the flag in a public forum. The flag would have been raised only during the one-hour event held by Camp Constitution.

The city regularly extends to other civic and cultural organizations the freedom to raise their flags on a flagpole to commemorate whatever events are important to the organizations. The city’s application policy refers to the flagpoles as “public forums.”

The city denied two requests by Camp Constitution in successive years because of the religious nature of the flag. Staver says: “The city’s blatant discrimination against Camp Constitution’s Christian viewpoint is an unconstitutional censorship and insult to the First Amendment,” adding, “Boston’s rich heritage has a focal point of liberty and free speech at America’s founding. The city cannot close its public forums to religious viewpoints. It is tragic that a Boston official censored the flag at the event to celebrate the Constitution..."

Another of the organizers of that Straight Pride parade in the city is talking about a novel concept: tolerance for all.  The Washington Examiner article says, "We want tolerance, and we want tolerance for everybody — not just the LGBTQ community," organizer John Hugo told the Washington Post.

The organizing group for the parade is called Super Happy Fun America.  Its website states:

We have determined that a parade would be the best way to promote our community and its diverse history, culture, and identity. We anticipate that the city will eventually choose to embrace tolerance and inclusivity. For now, it is necessary to remind the city that they are legally obligated to treat straight people the same as people of other sexual orientations. MGL c.272, s.98 prohibits discrimination based upon sexual orientation in places of public accommodation. While Boston Pride hosts a week-long celebration every year for the LGBTQ+ community, we will settle for one day since our movement is in the early stages.

Certainly a number of takeaways here, and please allow me to say again that I am not endorsing the Straight Pride event.  It does not appear rooted in Biblical principles and we should certainly not take pride in ourselves or our sexuality.  But, there are some principles that are useful here.

First of all, those who expect, er, demand tolerance, exhibit a frustrating level of intolerance toward Christians.  They will attempt to extract a blind acceptance to their ways.  But, the teachings of Scripture, while based on and filled with God's love, do not direct us to tolerate sinful behavior.  That has negatively impacted culture today - we are called to show compassion toward people, but we are never directed to approve of their departure from God's ways.

And, we can also recognize that what could best be defined as disagreement has been redefined as intolerance.  Lack of acceptance for a viewpoint or practice does not equate with lack of respect for an individual's humanity.  We are called to treat others with respect, but we always hold true to our firm convictions.

Just a side note here: sometimes the statement of our ideals can be done in a humorous or creative way; Jesus calls us to "be of good cheer."  We don't necessarily help the cause of Christ or the furtherance of truth when we are seen as angry and combative.  The joy of the Lord can be infectious.