Pride, not PRIDE
My father was informed by a minister once that he was one of the “Lost.” This was after Dad had become a Christian. In fact, it was many years after he himself was “Ordained to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament.” He loved to tell the story because he thought it was hilarious.
For any who may not know, for some Christians “to be lost” means that a person has not accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior and will, therefore, be condemned to hell for all eternity.
So, there was this colleague of Dad’s (though he would shudder at me calling him that) who lived in the same city. He was also ordained by the same denomination. He also served as pastor to a congregation. He was twenty years younger than my father and in all sincerity one day he approached Dad to say,
“God has given me a gift. I am able to discern who is “Lost” among us. When I look at them, I see an “L” on their forehead. When I look at you, I see that ‘L’.”
This was long before teenagers walked around holding up an “L” to their foreheads and shouting “Loser” at each other. Heck, for all I know, maybe this guy was the beginning of that whole trend.
It sounds absolutely ridiculous that someone would say such a thing, but I know that he believed what he was saying. He was not angry with my father. He wanted to save my father from eternal damnation. It just so happened they had disagreed on this or that or the other. I wonder how many people who agreed with him had an “L” on their foreheads. I imagine the number was zero. Such a coincidence.
Most of us Christians absolutely know how ridiculous we seem to the rest of the world. At least most ministers do. We don’t blame you for not wanting to be a part of this institution that enables a person to sincerely say to another minister (twenty years his senior) that he is one of the “Lost.”
When in my frustration and exasperation, I ask Hubby, “What the hell causes such behavior?” His answer is always short and simple. “Pride,” he says, “and that is a sin.”
My denomination has a confession of faith. Many denominations do. Some have many. Recently a person who is seeking the highest elected office in our denomination posted to Facebook that our confession has been “resurrected.” I can’t get over it. I’ve been thinking about it for days.
To say that our confession has been resurrected is to imply that it has been dead for some time. Hubby uses it every single week. I often use it to illuminate scripture in my own sermons. My uncle wrote a book about it. My sister and brother-in-law keep one handy at all times. My father made sure each person in his congregation had one when they joined the church. My own son was given one when he joined a church in our denomination at age 15. We are not unusual. We are the norm in this denomination.
And yet, we have someone seeking to represent us who not only thinks the confession had need of being resurrected, but who has actually been heard saying that “God has called” him “to save our denomination.”
Pride. And, that is a sin.
It may not surprise you that what we need to be saved from is a broader interpretation of Holy Scripture which says that homosexuality is not a sin. There are other issues upon which we disagree, but it all comes back to how we interpret scripture.
I’ve also heard someone allude to the fact that one side is interpreting scripture and the other side is taking it as it was written. In other words, there seem to be folks who believe that they read without interpretation.
Pride. And, that is a sin.
And, let me be clear. This pride of which I speak is very different than the Pride that the LGBTQ+ community celebrates this month. When you take time to understand the enforced shame that our siblings have had to live under, then you can better understand how “Pride” became the battle cry. Being proud to be one’s self is very different than the sin of pride which is to put oneself on the same level with God.
Paul’s words are taken out of context over and over again. And, now there is some evidence to even suggest that the word “homosexual” should never have been used. A committee chose to use that word for the first time in 1946. There are some who say they have evidence that the committee even admitted that it was a poor use of the word. Words like “effiminate” and “sexual abuse” would have been closer to the original. A seminary student called it to the committee’s attention, but by then the Revised Standard Version had been printed. What may have been a mistake has shaped an entire nation’s (and by way of our strong influence, the world’s) views of the spectrum of gender and sexuality.
Pride. And, that is a sin.
I don’t know if my own interpretations of scripture are right. Only God knows this. I do know that I can’t read Moby Dick or Tell-Tale Heart or a comic strip or our confession of faith or the Bible without also doing some interpretation while I do. Not one of us can. You are interpreting what I am writing right this minute. And, that is terrifying — because your lens may lead you to infer something that I don’t even know I’m saying.
If you happen to look at me and you see an “L” on my forehead, do me a favor. Just quietly pray for me because I’m truly doing the best I can. All I really know is that I battle my own pride every single day. And, thank God. I am forgiven because I follow a Living Jesus who was resurrected and who very simply commands, “Love God. Love others.”
