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Microsoft, America, and LGBTQI+ Coercion

Microsoft, America, and LGBTQI+ Coercion

by | Jul 9, 2019 | Bible, Christianity, God, Homosexuality, Jesus, LGBT, Spiritual

I’ve been a user of Microsoft computers and apps for over 3 decades (although I’m a Mac guy at heart).  So, I was recently disappointed, but not surprised, when I received one of the emails I regularly get from the tech giant. The email, which is displayed below, had nothing to do with technology, or computers, or the Microsoft products I use. Rather, it was a “prideful” endorsement and promotion of the lifestyle choices of LGBTQI+.  

Microsoft’s Email Promoting LGBTQI+

Let’s be clear.  This grouping of letters stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and “plus” (which represent other sexual identities including pansexual, asexual, and omnisexual).  So it’s literally a collection of every alternate and unnatural sexual lifestyle. Noticeably absent is the one sexual union that accounts for the very existence of each person who embraces the rainbow colored flag that they “pridefully” display. Yes, heterosexuality is the sole sexual relationship that God designed, and pronounced His blessings upon, within the confines of marital fidelity.  

Coercion 

You would have to be living in an alternate universe to not know that our nation, and much of the Western world, have aggressively endorsed, promoted, and demanded acceptance of these aberrant sexual choices in recent years.  In addition to our government at all levels pushing the full LGBTQI+ agenda, there is a barrage of big and medium sized businesses doing the same. Microsoft’s email was just one example of a literal tidal wave of LGBTQI+ promotion and coercion.  While flying Delta this week, I was also confronted multiple times with the world’s largest airline’s overt promotion of homosexual relationships via posters and video commercials (see below). 

Clip from Delta video ad

The coercive message from all those on the side of “Pride” is this:  “You must and you will embrace our agenda or you are hateful and a bigot. If you choose to resist, we will not only humiliate you with our words, we will break you economically if you’re a business owner. We not only demand lockstep, but we insist that you reject God in the process.” 

Of course, these folks would never openly admit that their coercion seeks to force the rejection of God. But if one spends any time in God’s Word, there is no disputing our Creator’s view of sexuality. God is abundantly clear that sexual activity outside of marriage, both heterosexual as well as LGBTQI+, is condemned and will be judged.   

It’s clear that God is angered when mankind perverts the blessing of sex, particularly when an entire culture or nation begin to embrace and promote same sex relationships. As if to emphasize the priority of this issue, God dedicated numerous passages and examples in the Bible that address the repercussions to a culture or nation that does what Microsoft, Delta and America are doing.  

The Apostle Paul, inspired by God, penned a poignant warning in Romans 1 about the repercussions to a society which embarks on the path our nation has taken. Note these tragic words, which describe precisely what we are seeing at this moment in America’s history: 

💡“But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them… Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools… So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.”  (Romans 1:18-19, 21-22, 24-32) 

The Warning 

As the LGBTQI+ movement appears to have gained a stronghold in America’s psyche, permeating every aspect of our culture, there is a dangerous warning that is prominent in the passage above: 

“God abandoned them…”

There is likely a no more hopeless phrase than this one. When God, the Author of Life and the Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, chooses to abandon a person, a people or a nation, there can only be one of two options at that point.  

The hopeful first option would be a humble repentance and returning to God by those who shook their fist at their Creator. But the second, and more likely, option is utter chaos as a people or nation reject the standards and order that God designed. On the heels of that chaos is certain destruction of the individual and nation who refuse to acknowledge and return to God’s good and perfect standard.  

Hate & Bigotry? 

No doubt some that read this will feel their own anger growing, towards the one who penned these words. And they will immediately respond, either internally, or openly, with labels of hate or bigotry, or some other derogatory terms. But such accusations couldn’t be further from the truth based on my knowledge of what resides in my heart. Consider this.  

I disagree with my wife, children and business partner from time to time. But no one has ever accused me of hating any of these individuals. Why?  Because disagreement is not synonymous with hatred, or bigotry, or some other outrageous and irrelevant explanation. In reality I love my wife, children, and business partner.  

Similarly, I disagree with the sexual choices of those engaged in LGBTQI+ behavior, but my disagreement is not rooted in hatred or bigotry, or in a demand that they agree with me. Rather, my disagreement is simply based on what God has to say about such behavior. And my expression of this disagreement is based on my belief that I will be held accountable by God someday as to whether I shared His Truth or kept it hidden and remained silent.  

Loving while Disagreeing 

My Chief Mentor commanded me 2000 years ago to “love my neighbor as myself.”  This Mentor, Jesus Christ, has instructed me that He will someday judge me, and all of mankind, for our individual choices and behavior, including whether I displayed love to others, while not running from His Truth.  When we speak Truth that is offensive, that does not equate to hate. Rather, Love compels us to speak Truth, even though it is sometimes hard to hear.  

Jesus did not shy away from speaking Truth, including when addressing sexual matters. One day He was  speaking with a woman who had been married five times and the man she was living with then was not her husband. He confronted this woman’s aberrant behavior head on, and she understood from His words that her behavior did not conform to God’s perfect standard. But rather than rebuke Jesus for daring to speak Truth into her life, she responded in humility and repented of her lifestyle. She then, in her excitement, shared God’s Truth with her neighbors. There is no doubt that today Jesus would also be called a hater or bigot, given his unpopular message. 

But it’s in the same spirit that Jesus shared Truth with this woman that I seek to share this Truth.  I do not wish to condemn anyone but to simply speak Truth in love. The real truth is that we all have struggles in our lives, so my words are not hurled as condemning stones, but rather as somber warnings.   

Pride Goes Before Destruction

In closing, it’s ironic that the LGBTQI+ proponents have adopted as the rallying cry the word “Pride,” suggesting that there there should be no shame or guilt surrounding an identification with such sexual choices. But as I was writing this article, a verse in the Bible came to mind: 

💡“Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.”  (Proverbs 16:18) 

Clearly, the connotation of “Pride” in this verse is related to conceit and haughtiness.  But there’s a parallel application, which while not intended from Scripture, is nonetheless relevant.  

God judges all sin, and He has clearly characterized all sexual activity outside of a heterosexual marital relationship as sin. Additionally, God’s pattern of judgment, throughout the many biblical examples, is that He destroys cultures, civilizations, and nations who embrace and celebrate their sins. So as America has embraced “Pride” as the buzzword for the LGBTQI+ movement, in a sense they have predicted their own ultimate outcome: Destruction. 

There is risk these days in writing an article like this, that is so out of line with the tidal wave of sexual “freedom” that allows for anything and judges nothing, except those who would share God’s Truth. But should one with Truth remain silent when being coerced to embrace a lie?  Or does Truth demand we stand firmly when others buckle?   

History is replete with examples of both, yet the ones we remember the most are those who stood for Truth, even if it meant standing alone.  

So I hope, as you consider these meager thoughts, that you will discover God’s words of Truth, and that He will give you the courage to also follow and stand for His Truth. 

Stand Firm. Speak Truth. In Love.  

“If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at the moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ.  Where the battle rates, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved.  And to be steady on all the battle fields besides is merely flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.”  Martin Luther 

Mother’s Day – A Tradition that Affirms the Sexes

Mother’s Day – A Tradition that Affirms the Sexes

by | May 15, 2017 | Family, God, Homosexuality, LGBT, Marriage, Political, Truth

Mother’s Day.  Who doesn’t acknowledge this special occasion?  While it’s difficult these days to find much on which all Americans can agree, Mother’s Day is one exception. We all recognize this day.  And while there are likely some instances where the memory of a mom may not be favorable, for the vast majority of us, it is.  

We gladly celebrate that special lady, who is uniquely responsible for laboring to bring us into this world, and more than likely has played an overwhelmingly positive role in our lives.  I know this is the case in my life.  I am eternally grateful for my mother, her steadfast example, and prayerful support throughout my entire life.

But whether your memory of your mom is favorable or not, there is one reality that every American shares in common and on which we all agree.  We all have a mother.  And that mother was biologically a female.  And she became a mother because of her union with a biological male, known as our father.  

Now you may view all the preceding statements as not only obvious, but bordering on silly to recite.  Who would take exception with the idea that you and I have a mother, that she is a female and that she became a mother because of the reproductive act she engaged in with your father?

One of our nation’s greatest documents, the Declaration of Independence, begins with these words, “We hold these truths to be self-evident…” and then it goes on to identify some clear and obvious truths.  However, I’d like to recite those famous words in a slightly different context, as follows:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all mothers are female and you and I are the offspring of our mothers.”

Now, that’s not really that hard to understand, if you’ve been through Biology 101.  There are certain facts that all of creation affirms and are indisputable. One such fact is the difference between the two sexes, male and female. One other “self-evident” truth is the reality that when you and I were born, our DNA and our physical bodies, attested to the fact that we were either 1) male, or 2) female.  There were no other choices or options.  

Lying in that crib for the first time, our mother had no doubt as to what she has just given birth.  As she named you, cared for your little body, cuddled you to her breasts, and as she beamed the news of your birth to family and friends, she announced “It’s a boy” or “It’s a girl.”  She even likely dressed you in blue or pink, signifying the particular sex your Creator has established and she had affirmed.

But in spite of these indisputable facts, it has become politically correct, and culturally foolish, to defy “self-evident” truth.  Our “progressive” culture lives to distort, destroy and reshape truth.  But as hard as some might try, one cannot defy what is obvious.  Regardless though, truth is under a continuous and unrelenting assault and the attempt continues to turn truth upside down. Consequently, truth-deniers continue to redefine what cannot be, suggesting that a woman can become a man, a man can become a woman (as in Bruce “Caitlyn” Jenner), a husband can be a woman, or a wife can be a man.

Changing a name does not change a self-evident truth, just as the tyranny of slavery did not diminish the truth that “all men are created equal.”  In God’s eyes, the man with brown skin, brought over in a slave ship from the continent of Africa, was equal in value to the ruthless master who treated his slave as less than human.  The fact that society ignored and trampled on the “self-evident” truth that both men were created equal in the eyes of their Creator, did not revise such truth. And ultimately, culture was forced to acknowledge truth, although at an immense and tragic cost.

So as we remember Mother’s day, perhaps this is one time when those who would seek to defy “self-evident” truth are in fact affirming that truth, at least for a day.  And at a time when the progressive onslaught continues to gain speed and momentum, perhaps we can relish in this one small victory, even if the other side is unaware or unwilling to acknowledge our victory.    

To Judge or Not to Judge?

To Judge or Not to Judge?

by | May 25, 2016 | Abortion, Absolutes, Bible, Evil, God, Homosexuality, Judge, Life, Marriage, Moral, Political, Religious Liberty, Transgender

To Judge or Not to Judge

 

In this day in time, there’s hardly a week that passes where some major moral issue isn’t being debated in the court of public opinion.  Whether it’s via the courts, primetime TV or social media, it seems more and more of the values that many of us and our parents and grandparents grew up with are now on trial and under full attack.  From marriage and abortion, to homosexuality and transgender facilities, the standards that have been in place for generations are now being undermined in an ever more intense manner.

At the same time as these cultural and political battles are taking place, there is an effort by the same elite to stamp out all dissent, whether via political correctness, so-called tolerance, or even through courts, legislation and government regulation. One other popular method that those attacking our most fundamental values are fond to employ is by using the Bible itself to silence Christians.  In particular, those who frequently despise the Holy Book, are all too eager to use select passages to either advance their agenda or hush poorly informed Christians, who may not dust their Bible off that often. 

A passage that is continuously misquoted, perhaps more than any other in the Bible, is in Matthew 7 where we read, “Judge not, that you be not judged.”  And so it would seem that with one short verse, the entire Christian argument on any of today’s difficult issues is silenced.  As the passage goes on to say, “why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

No one wants to be a hypocrite, even though, if we are honest with ourselves, there are areas in our lives where we all say one thing and sadly live another.  So doesn’t this passage clearly say we must remove the plank out of our eye before we can remove the speck out of someone else’s eye?  So how can we ever speak out or “judge” any matters of any importance that involve our “brothers” or even our friends or neighbors?  

The truth is that if you and I are the judge and it’s our own law, then we clearly cannot judge others.  If the standard by which we evaluate others and their actions is a subjective, personal standard, then who are we to tell someone else what is right or wrong?  In fact, if the standard is my own, and thus subjective, then you likely have your own as well.  And so then there is no objective, absolute standard, and thus no right or wrong.

But there are in fact absolutes, contrary to today’s prevailing philosophy.  We all know this both inherently and because we have experienced these absolutes.  The law and even nature are both quick to remind us of them.  Break the speed limit, and blue lights will remind you of certain absolutes.  Leave a few dollars off your tax return, and the nation’s favorite governmental agency will send you a bill with interest and penalties for forgetting that income.  Strike someone with malice, and a man in a black robe may sentence you to years behind bars.  Walk off a building, and you’ll quickly learn that nature itself attests to absolutes.  So it’s clear we live accountable to absolutes all the time, whether we like them or not.  

But back to the “judge not” passage.  The Bible is a book of history, prophecy, morality and spirituality, but it is ultimately God’s message to mankind.  The Bible instructs mankind on matters of morality and from those precepts, man is then able to discern right and wrong.  He is not the judge, as God established the law.  Man is simply one who discerns right from wrong, good from evil, based on God’s absolute standard.  So God judges.  Man discerns.

When you or I speak out on a moral issue that is delineated in Scripture, the judgment being made is not merely our own, but it is one based on a moral standard that supersedes our own.  In this case, it is God’s.  The Bible is clear in its admonition to reject evil, embrace good and expose darkness, as these passages clearly illustrate:

“Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.”  Ephesians 5:11

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.”  Isaiah 5:20

“Depart from evil and do good.”  Psalm 37:27

“Putting away lying, let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor.”  Ephesians 4:25

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”  Romans 12:21

Finally, we are called in John 7:24 (just a few verses after the “judge not” passage) to actually “judge with righteous judgment.”  This passage clearly suggests that when “judging” is done righteously, meaning according to God’s perfect standard, then that judgment is not only appropriate but it is commanded.

So the next time you hear someone misquote Matthew 7:1 by telling you to stop judging, consider that they are doing so out of either ignorance, or worse, they seek to simply silence you.  But now you know better.