A friend of mine described a recent conversation with her 10- year- old granddaughter. Her granddaughter's parents had taken her on a trip to a major city during the month of June, and my friend asked her granddaughter what she remembered most. “Oh, it was very nice, but it was kind of weird, because there were rainbow signs everywhere about something called pride,” the girl replied with some hesitation.
“What did you think that meant?” the grandmother asked. The granddaughter paused and said, “Happy?”
But grandmother discerned that her granddaughter knew something else was going on. There was confusion in the girl’s eyes, and my friend was eager to take the opportunity for a teaching moment, but circumstances interrupted them and that fuller conversation has not yet happened.
Maybe it can happen in the future. Our children usually know that something is off-kilter with this movement. “Pride” cries out for an explanation.
The rainbow revolution is being sold to our children at every opportunity. Disney, Nickelodeon and other children’s media are full of rainbow marketing in June, and even though parades occur in June and some in the later summer months, “LGBTQ pride” messages are prominent in the fall during the school year ( go here to see the full list of “events” to watch for).
October has become a particular focus for “LGBTQ” activism in schools, with many saying it’s a secondary “pride” month with access to children’s minds and hearts not available during the summer. It’s a big push to sell a civil rights’ spin to young learners through observance of “LGBTQ History Month.” Go here for the real history of aggressive, deceptive “gay” activism.
So below are my thoughts as you might explain the “pride” message to your child. You can copy and paste from here forward and your children can read this on their own.
Why is the rainbow used and what is “pride” celebrating?
Rainbows are supposed to make us happy. With all the colors of the spectrum, the rainbow brings us a picture of life, sunshine and God’s love.
Yes, God invented the rainbow. It was His promise to Noah and the future world that they were safe under His care.
But some people in modern times have adopted the rainbow to mean something else entirely. And it includes a message about “pride” in a way that is not true to God at all.
This version of the rainbow wants us to be happy about certain kinds of behaviors, today called “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer.”
Some of these behaviors (LGB) are affection and love between adults (and sometimes teenagers) who are not male and female, but are male and male. Or female and female. And they want to love them, not as friends, but as a person to date or even marry. Yes, that’s now legal, through a recent court ruling.
And yes, these relationships will include the intimate, cuddling and private desires that a married man and woman might express. A “bisexual” will claim to want to do this with either a male or a female. And a person who claims to be “queer” wants to have approval for any of this as they decide from day to day.
And we haven’t talked about the “T” here, the “transgender” part. We will get to that later.
There are a few problems, though. These people will often act in different ways, with different sexual behavior, than a man and woman would.
And you know that close intimate behavior between a man and woman can create a baby, right? Well, men with men can never make babies. Nor women with women.
God ‘s word is very clear, that men with men or women with women is a very grave sin.
Go here if you want to read more about the Bible’s teaching on “LGBTQ” behavior.
So where is the “pride”? What’s happening is sadly, a big lie. The goal is to make this behavior seem like it’s equal to man/woman marriage. And they have parades, and music, and what seems to be a big celebration. Have you ever seen someone making a big pretense of something that’s not true? And wanting you to go along with it? That’s what “pride” is.
There’s lots of talk about tolerance—but lately it feels like everyone is supposed to put a happy face on all this, and no one is allowed to say even the smallest thing against it.
That’s why it’s called “pride.”
But God thinks there is nothing to be proud of. The prophet Isaiah quotes what God thinks about this behavior and prideful parades (see Isaiah 3:9 NIV).
Are people born with these “LGBTQ” feelings?
Sometimes, the message is that certain people have no control over who they are attracted to, that they were born with these feelings.
But what is the truth? There is actually no research proving that people are born this way. And there are many, many people who once had these feelings, and now do not. Many people lived as “gay” or “lesbian,” or pretended to be girls when they were born boys, and they have changed all that.
So being “born that way” is another big deception.
What about being “transgender”?
In recent years, there’s more and more talk about people, even children, who were born as one sex and then decide to dress and act as the other-- girls who want to be boys, or boys who believe they ought to be girls. And they want to use the same restroom as the sex of their new “pretend” self—even if it makes other people very uncomfortable. Do you girls want boys in your bathroom? No!
There is no science that shows this is right, or that God made some mistake. People are born as male or female, with a tiny number who sadly experience a defect at birth. This is usually corrected by doctors right away.
Perhaps you have noticed students at school who have changed their birth names, and some even take strong medicine they hope will change them into the other sex. Some later get surgery, even though they aren’t sick and don’t need it.
This change can never happen. Being a boy or being a girl is a part of the cells throughout our bodies, not just your private parts. And messing with your natural body, especially as it is growing, can end up as permanent, lifelong complications.
But every “pride” parade features people called “drag queens,” men who dress as women. And the crowd is supposed to cheer as if this is fine.
The Bible describes no “transgender” people. In fact, a man who even dresses as a woman is a grave sin in God’s eyes ( Deuteronomy 22:5).
Why aren’t people standing up to say No?
Some people are speaking out, and you are reading something right now that is just one of many online expressions to explain the problems with “LGBTQ” behavior.
But after begging for “tolerance” for themselves for decades, those who support these behaviors are now very hostile to anyone who asks to be treated fairly. Does every student at school need to clap and smile over “pride” flags or T-shirts? No, they should be able to say, “No, I don’t agree, “ and be respected with this viewpoint.
But those who are “LGBTQ” or who cheer them on are often very unpleasant to those who object. In fact, Christians and others who stand up and even politely refuse to clap and cheer over “pride” are often sued. Thousands of dollars have gone toward defending themselves in court.
Is this fair? No, it isn’t.
What does Jesus say?
Jesus specifically clarifies that marriage is between one man and one woman, joining these two spouses after each leaves the home where they grew up with mother and father (not “mother and mother”). People are created to join in marriage and then have intimate, personal affection with someone of the opposite sex—a man marries a woman, a woman marries a man. And then they have babies and families.
Our society is very confused if we go along with “pride.” And the rainbow is a beautiful gift to us from God—not a symbol to be stolen by a group of proud sinners.
