The National Anthem, Bathrooms, and Disney: Why I Believe What I Do

PICTURE OBTAINED: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_United_States

Many of you read my Facebook post on Sunday, September 24, 2017. This was when the movement for the NFL players to protest the National Anthem came to one of its strongest weekends, right after President Trump called out the NFL teams and owners for keeping players who protested on their teams. Here is what I wrote that afternoon as I sat watching the Philadelphia Eagles play the New York Giants:

Some may disagree with me on this, but here is where I stand: I am not going to overly politicize the game that I love. I will always continue to stand for my national anthem of my country, and I will do so out of respect for the flag and the men and women who died to protect my right to stand.

BUT

Those same men and women died to protect every right we have, which include the rights of free speech and free assembly, ultimately the inferring of the right of a peaceful protest. I will not agree with those who kneel. But they are as much in their constitutional rights as those who I religiously disagree with. Our rights as men and women in this country are greatly varied. If we condemn the men who kneel here, are we any better than the atheist who would condemn us for our religious beliefs in court? Let us look to Matthew 7:1 for a principle here: "Judge not lest ye be judged." This verse encourages us to first look within before judging the actions of another. So let me ask you this: do we perfectly honor the men and women who have fought for our rights? Do we, by condemning people who are 100% within their rights show forth the example of Christ? Let us not be guilty of this grave mistake. My eyes will continue to be on the NFL when I can because I enjoy the sport and will continue to believe in and support the rights that all Americans possess.

I still stand by exactly what I wrote that day. But as I write today, my purpose is different. I would like to offer some clarification as to why I stand where I stand. 

PICTURE OBTAINED: https://www.charismanews.com/us/64114-target-ceo-admits-bathroom-policy-announcement-was-huge-mistake

Last year, I found myself between a rock and a hard place. I was working at Target, caught up in the middle of the transgender bathroom decisions that were being made. Christians were boycotting Target and encouraging others to do the same. I was advised by some to leave the job because of it and advised by others to not worry about that and to stay. I prayed over this decision for weeks before finally coming to the conclusion to stay on as a Target team member. Did I agree with what Target did? No. Did I support what they did? No. But could I live as a Christian within the Target community and honor and glorify God? Yes. I believe that God was able to use my testimony at Target as an influence on the lives of others, whether I will know that ever or not remains to be seen in His time. 

PICTURE OBTAINED: http://www.refinery29.com/2017/03/145881/beauty-and-the-beast-gay-scene-lefou-gaston-what-happens

This past year we also saw the influence of the homosexual community on the world of entertainment. Disney was said to be releasing a homosexual character into a role in their live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast. As Christians flooded social media with posts about boycotting Disney, I thought to myself, should we really be surprised at this? This is Disney! They have never once expressed a Christian testimony in their movies or corporate dealings. But did Christians boycott Disney when John and Michael smoked a pipe in Neverland, when Jasmine and Ariel dressed immodestly in their respective movies, or through any of the other messages that Disney proposed that were blatantly against the Scriptures? No. 

I Corinthians 2:14 reads, "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." Here we stand as Christians. Now we expect a certain standard when it comes to the National Anthem, bathrooms, and what has been wholesome entertainment for years in Disney. But should it surprise us when the natural man--the man who has not received the Spirit of God--doesn't receive the teachings of God's Word? That the men who live such lavish, wasteful, and to be quite honest sinful lifestyles will not respect the flag? That a corporation that has not honored God in the past would choose to not honor His order of one gender for life? That a company which has been openly against Christ in the past would choose to defy Him again by creating a character who is openly against His design for sexual boundaries?

What I am trying to say here is that we are living in a sin-cursed world. A world that views what the Word of God says as foolishness. They do not honor its precepts, they scoff at its teachings, and mock those who would desire to follow them. Yet how did Christ respond when they did all that to Him?

Did He not say, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do"? 
Did He not write in the dirt while the religious leaders brought before Him a woman caught in adultery and then set her free to sin no more? 
Did He not go into the home of Zacchaeus, a vile publican and show Him the love of God? 
Did He not sit with publicans and sinners? 
Did He not save you?

I've grown up in a Christian home. I never experienced the worldliness that some who have come to Christ from a different background have. But I've seen it. And as I've seen it, I've longed for it to be cut off from this earth forever. I've desired for Christ to take me home to never have to hear one more filthy word or know of one more despicable act. But alas, He yet tarries. So now I--we as Christians must live in this world--yet somehow be not of it. We must somehow show the love of Christ to sinners without being tainted by their sin. So what do I encourage? Rather than disrespecting the man who kneels for the National Anthem, let us kneel in prayer for Him at night after the games are all over. Rather than leaving a company with no Christian witness let us take the Gospel into corporate chains, stores, and restaurants around the world. Rather than being surprised by an entertainment company's sinful decisions, let us teach future generations about God's design and show them that we can show Christ's love to those same people who would ignore His Word now. 

PICTURE OBTAINED: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2481662/posts

I am calling for us to look inside our own hearts and lives to see if we be in need of transforming to the image of Christ. I am calling for God to be honored in our hearts and lives so that those who would call what we do foolishness would see that what they have done in their lives has turned them into fools and that they would turn to the wisdom of the cross.