Pride: Sin or Gift?
”Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6
It’s Pride month. All over the country, people who are LGBTQ+ And their allies are celebrating with parades, speeches, parties, rainbow flags and paraphernalia to commemorate the tipping point of the gay movement for recognition and respect following the Stonewall uprising in 1969. Read more about this here: https://www.history.com/news/stonewall-riots-timeline
A lot of Christians have trouble with the name of this, now official, holiday. After all, Pride is ‘the deadliest of all sins’ according to the Bible. But what if we were to look at Pride in a different way? Instead of being the opposite of humility, which God tells us is the way He wants us to live, what if we were to see it as the opposite of shame, which is what our society has imposed upon people who are different than the heteronormative majority for so long?
Pride, the opposite of humility, according to biblical wisdom has always been against God’s wishes for us as His people. If we are too proud of ourselves and our own accomplishments, we are not relying on Him for our strength. We are giving ourselves the credit that He, who created us, is due. Some say that all sin is derived from Pride - thinking that we are better, smarter or more important than God.
Yes, we ought to feel shame about things that we have done against God because of our pride. It is this shame that leads to repentance and salvation.
Shame in how we were created however, is not what God intends for us. King David, who certainly committed his share of sins born of pride, wrote this psalm about God’s love for him,
“You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.” Psalm 139: 1-6, 13,14
Does that sound like someone who is ashamed of who God created him to be?
For too many years, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people have been forced to live in fear and shame of how they were created. But it has been their fellow man who has imposed this upon them, not God. Because of the way they’ve been treated, many have turned away from God and away from the church. Because of the way they were forced to live in secret, many have turned to self-destructive lifestyles or worse, suicide.
So what does this mean for us as a church? When a person is shown love and acceptance for their God- gifted self, it can transform a life of guilt and shame into a life of joy. When we as Christians show love and acceptance to the ones that others turn away, we are following God’s commandments to love those He loves. Jesus never condemned anyone who was considered ‘a sinner’ but he was always calling out the self-righteous religious leaders, who were actually full of pride.
So, are some of these Pride celebrations a bit over the top? Sure, but so is St. Patricks Day in Boston and Marci Gras in New Orleans. Gay or straight, some folks take it to the extreme. And that can be scary, but we cannot condemn whole groups of people because of how a few act. It is only when we begin to look at each other as individuals, each with our own story, that we can see with the eyes of God and love each individual with God’s love.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave his only son,
that whoever believes in him shall have eternal life.
For God sent his son into the world, not to condemn the world but to save the world through him.
John 3:16-17
Who are we to condemn others and withhold the limitless power and love of God?
Let us instead, show affirmation and love to ALL God’s people and in doing so transform the world!
Peace In Christ,
Merryl