Swift to Judge

Our world today, you might say, generally reflects the lack of knowledge of God, yet, He is working through His people, who are faithful to radiate His love.  There is much potential to see people come to Christ, but there is much opposition to His teaching. John 15 states:

17 These things I command you, that you love one another.
18 "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
20 Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.

Jesus teaches that even though we may encounter tribulation in this world, we can "be of good cheer."  Because we bear the name of Christ, there will be those who will oppose us, yet, we are called to reflect His demeanor, not to become angry and allow ourselves to be consumed by bitterness, but to rise above the rancor and demonstrate a joy that is not of this world.  We can be consumed by Christ, and that can make a statement to those who reject His ways.

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When we face adversity and opposition, even when we become distracted by the taunts of those who do not embrace God's truth, we can be strong in the Lord.  Psalm 9 provides some encouragement for us:

9 The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, A refuge in times of trouble.
10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion! Declare His deeds among the people.

Pop singer Taylor Swift has had quite the career at her relatively young age - since bursting on to the music scene in the country space, to redefining herself as a pop artist, she has sold tons of records and filled plenty of arenas.  And, during the Tennessee race for U.S. Senate, she took a turn at politics, endorsing the losing candidate, Democrat Phil Bredesen.

Swift has decided to use one of her songs to stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ community - it's called, You Need to Calm Down, and Faithwire reports on the music video to the song:

Filled with celebrities like daytime TV host Ellen DeGeneres, actor Ryan Reynolds, transgender actor Laverne Cox, pop star Katy Perry, and the cast of Netflix’s “Queer Eye,” the music video portrayed those who take issue with the LGBTQ lifestyle as half-witted, hateful rednecks.

The song’s lyrics include lines like: “And control your urges to scream about all the people you hate, ’cause shade never made anybody less gay.” The LGBTQ community’s detractors, Swift sang, “would rather be in the dark ages.”

And, then there's this zinger: "“Why are you mad when you could be GLAAD?” (spelled with two A's, a reference to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation)

The article says that:

At the end of the music video for the new single off Swift’s forthcoming album “Lover,” the screen turns pink with yellow text, reading: “Let’s show our pride by demanding that, on a national level, our laws truly treat all of our citizens equally.” The entertainer also encouraged her fans to sign a petition urging the U.S. Senate to support the progressive Equality Act touted by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Swift is certainly not slow to paint with a broad brush and engage in stereotyping those who do not embrace or support the gay lifestyle.  The irony is that Swift's song is a stereotype in itself, rattling off a bunch of platitudes to show herself as truly the intolerant sort that she is trying to depict others to be.

So, now Taylor is on board with the Equality Act, which sounds soooo good on the surface.  As Faithwire describes it: "The legislation to which Swift is referring would expand the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity."  It has passed the House, but is unlikely to pass the Senate; plus, the Trump Administration has expressed its opposition to the bill.  The article also points out:

If passed, the bill would undo much of the Trump administration’s effort to protect employers who, among other things, object to covering abortion services on religious grounds. It could also endanger business owners like baker Jack Phillips, who has faced legal scrutiny over his refusal to bake a cake decorated in a way that violates his personal convictions.

When someone supports the Equality Act, that is what he or she is supporting - but there's so much more.  After the House passage of the bill, Kristen Waggoner of the Alliance Defending Freedom, who actually defended Jack Phillips before the U.S. Supreme Court, stated:

“Laws should respect the constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of every citizen, but the so-called ‘Equality Act’ that the House has passed fails to meet this essential standard. It undermines women’s equality by denying female athletes fair competition in sports, depriving women of business opportunities designed for them, and forcing them to share private, intimate spaces with men who identify as female. Like similar state and local laws, it would also force Americans to participate in events and speak messages that violate their core beliefs, all in the name of an ‘equality’ that tolerates no dissenters.

Waggoner adds: "This bill undermines human dignity by threatening the fundamental freedoms of speech, religion, and conscience that the First Amendment guarantees for every citizen. Americans deserve better than the profound inequality that this intolerant, deceptively titled legislation offers."

Mary Beth Waddell of Family Research Council calls the bill the "In-Equality Act," writing: 

The In-Equality Act, unfortunately, isn’t about equality at all. Rather, it’s about government-imposed ideology and unfairness. When discussing her agenda for this Congress, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “if there is some collateral damage for some others who do not share our view so be it.”

Don't let the bright, rainbow colors deceive you: there is a sinister agenda that undermines religious freedom and corrupts individual choice.  The so-called Equality Act introduces a two-tiered system that elevates behavior the Bible calls sinful and reduces people of faith to second class citizens. 

But, this is not necessarily unexpected. We have seen the swift (no pun intended) proliferation of the gay rights agenda permeate our culture for quite a few years, and the Obergefell decision for the Supreme Court pushed that agenda into overdrive.  So, we've seen this coming.  And, even two thousand years ago, Jesus spoke of tribulation and persecution for the people of God. 

This trend should not distract us from our mission or cause us to lose hope.  Our mission is to represent Christ, to be His ambassadors, and to faithfully live out the Christian life to a world that so desperately needs to see the presence of Jesus.  There will be attempts to distort or silence our message, but through the reliability of His truth and the power of His Spirit, God is drawing people to Himself - He is moving, and we can't allow the enemy to sideline us from what He wants to do through us.