To mark "Pride Month," the United States Embassy at the Holy See displayed the ubiquitous rainbow flag on the side of its edifice, where it can be seen by every Cardinal, Bishop, and Priest at the Vatican. The embassy's Twitter account bragged about the display with this message:
"Today is the start of #Pride Month. The United States respects and promotes the equality and human dignity of all people including the LGBTQIA+ community. #PrideMonth #AllInclusive #Pride2022"
Today is the start of #Pride Month. The United States respects and promotes the equality and human dignity of all people including the LGBTQIA+ community. #PrideMonth #AllInclusive #Pride2022 pic.twitter.com/6VgN9R8c3J
— U.S. in Holy See (@USinHolySee) June 1, 2022
That's right, all the appropriate, virtue-signaling hashtags were employed for this puppy.
Strangely, the American embassy in Saudi Arabia didn't also display the rainbow flag. The same goes for the Pakistan embassy, Indonesian embassy and other Islamic-dominated countries with hostile laws outlawing homosexual behavior.
Last year, when the Biden Administration grandstanded about promoting "Pride Season" by allowing U.S. embassies to hoist the rainbow banner, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken took great pains to ensure that his diplomats not cause a furor in countries that might not take kindly to the message.
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"Posts should support efforts to repeal [criminalization] legislation while ensuring that 'do no harm' remains our overarching principle so U.S. efforts do not inadvertently result in backlash or further marginalization of the LGBTQI+ community," last year's cable read.
In other words, "only fly the flag in countries that won't punish us or their gay citizens if you do." So, the fact that the embassy flaunted the flag at the Vatican is proof that the Catholic Church, though steadfast (we hope) in their consistent doctrine that homosexual acts are sinful, is loving and tolerant of individuals with same-sex attraction.
So, this grandstanding isn't the "in your face, OWN" these immature children at the State Department think it is.
But, since they decided to raise the issue of homosexual acts and lifestyle in the context of the Christian religion, maybe a larger lesson could be learned here as the Biden Administration, social media activists, and every corporation under the sun executes their head-first, mad dash to emblazon everything standing still with a rainbow tattoo in a desperate attempt to prove their virtue.
Forget, for a moment, what the Holy Scripture tells us about homosexual acts. What does it tell us about pride?
That's right, the larger problem for the Judeo-Christian faiths might not necessarily be the "gay" part of "gay pride," it might be the "pride" part.
Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit (Ecclesiastes 7:8).
Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken (Jeremiah 13:15).
The Lord detests the proud; they will surely be punished (Proverbs 16:5).
The wicked are too proud to seek God. They seem to think that God is dead (Psalm 10:4).
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18).
In fact, I think it's fair to say that the Bible has a bigger problem with pride than it has with homosexuality.
Jesus addressed both as grave sins in the Gospel according to Mark.
"For it is from within, out of a person's heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person" (Mark 7:21-23).
To understand why our faith is so concerned about pride, we need to understand that Biblical pride is very different than the pride one feels after a job well done or the satisfaction one feels in the accomplishments of one's children.
It's ok to be proud of yourself and proud of the people in your life for their virtuous endeavors and accomplishments after they've worked hard to achieve a goal. That's not the sinful pride God evokes through his Holy word.
The sin of pride – the most serious of the seven deadly sins – is explained very well by Mary Fairchild at the Learn Religions website.
"The sin of pride is a heart attitude expressed in an unhealthy, exaggerated attention to self and an elevated view of one's abilities, accomplishments, position, or possessions. Pride has been called 'the cancer of the soul,' 'the beginning of all sin,' and 'sin in its final form.' Ten Hebrew words and two Greek words are generally used in the Bible to refer to it. Pride, in its sinful form, is the direct opposite of humility, a trait that is highly praised and rewarded by God."
Avoiding sinful pride is something we can all attempt to achieve and is certainly a goal for all of us, regardless of our sexual nature and our same or opposite-sex attractions. I am no more prideful of my attraction to the opposite sex than someone should be proud of their attraction to the same sex. I believe we have conflated the idea of not being ashamed of our sexual nature with being proud of it instead.
If we are to believe that people with same-sex attraction are "born that way," as we've been told, then what, exactly, are they proud of? It's like being proud of your height or your hair color. You literally had nothing to do with it, so what are you taking pride in? Certainly not in personal achievement.
It's logically and morally incoherent.
But, this won't stop governments, corporations and pop culture from inundating us with rainbow banners for the rest of this month. We must stop and acknowledge all the pride. And, if you don't, you're committing a secular sin and must repent.
Ironic, isn't it.
"Beware your pride, it cometh before the fall."
