Whose Flag Are You Flying?

It's the end of May as I write. I am really hoping the month of June will not be the stage for mental illness and debauchery it has been for the past few years. I am really hoping rainbows and LGBTQIA+ flags will not adorn every company logo and city structure known to man. Not because I have no love for that community, not because I have anything against rainbows or flags, but because the flagrant in-your-face campaign that has been encouraged in the past is uncalled for. It's between you and your Creator if you act on your temptation to sin. It's between you and your Creator if you believe He's made some terrible mistake. It's between you and your Creator if you wanna dis His sign of promise. But when you hijack our government buildings, our parks and roadways, our libraries, our schools, and our churches with your personal problems, I take issue. I also take issue with the administrators of those spaces who allow you to hijack them. And, as a believer, I take particular issue with the stewards of God's sheep, buildings, and Word who have allowed --No! not just allowed but encouraged this wickedness. I hope you do, too. 

My family is of European descent. They come from Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Germany, Switzerland, etc., etc. I can't walk into my church with a Union Jack or a German flag and not expect someone to question my motives. What are you trying to say? What are you trying to prove? And quite honestly, I can't think of any motive besides drawing attention to myself in the House of God that would cause me to carry the flag of another country. Even the American flag --though it stands proudly at the front of our place of worship, it stands to remind us of the blessing of our country. It reminds us we are in a place that allows us to worship the One True God, to read His Word aloud and as led by the Spirit. It reminds us we are free to assemble in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But even if I were to hoist it high and march down the aisle during the time of offering, someone would --I pray --snag me before I got past the second row and say, "Put the flag away, please. It could be a distraction. We are here to worship God."

We are here to worship God. As believers, we are not here to celebrate sin, to coddle apostate hearts, or to allow the perversion of His Word and His promises. We are His ambassadors. His is the only flag we should fly. Loyalty and obedience to God over any other, over every other loyalty. Yet, many American churches have caved to championing the flag of the LGBTQIA+. If it's about making them feel welcome, why are there not flags of other countries? Italians welcome here! Why are there not flags of other states? Missourians welcome here! Why are there not flags of organizations? Marines, or Olympians, or Boy Scouts welcome here! It's a ridiculous effort at being relevant. And God will judge it. God does not need His people to compromise His holiness in order to win souls. The preaching of the early Apostles was fire and brimstone, and thousands were saved at a time. In a culture that fed converts to lions! Scriptures condemn drawing attention to ourselves for any other reason but to draw attention to the God we serve, the God worthy of glory. So, whose flag are you flying? I pray it is His and His alone.