Grace to the Humble

Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for

  “God resists the proud,
  But gives grace to the humble.”

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

— 1 Peter 5:5-11

Often times, those who hate the LGBTQ+ community are the loudest and most vocal in their hatred. Sadly, because of the centuries of Christian persecution of LGBTQ+ people, it is acceptable to far too many people. Yet, other forms of discrimination, such as racism, are almost universally condemned. There is nothing humble about homophobia. Those who hate LGBTQ+ are hateful and loud about their hatred. As 1 Peter 5:8 says, our “adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion,” and tells us to “be sober, be vigilant” because he is “seeking whom he may devour.”

Quite frankly, most of the homophobes of the world want us dead and are often not ashamed to say so. They want to ruin the lives of LGBTQ+ people. This week, the small-town mayor of Smith Station, Alabama, who was also a Baptist minister in Phenix City, committed suicide after a Christofascist hate group calling itself “1819 News” (1819 refers to the year Alabama became a state), published pictures of him wearing women’s clothes and makeup. The Phenix City School Superintendent Dr. Larry DiChiara wrote in a Facebook post, “I am so angry right now and heartbroken. I witnessed a good man be publicly ridiculed and crucified over the last few days to the point that he just took his own life today. I just want to ask you people who thought it humorous to publicly ridicule him, ‘Are you happy now?’ What crime did he commit?” Sadly, I have no doubt that those who publicly ridiculed him are happy.

The Alabama Baptist State Convention put out a statement that said, “We have become aware of the alleged unbiblical behavior related to the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Phenix City. We are praying for the leaders of the church family as they seek to determine the truth concerning these accusations.” The Baptist Convention referred to this man “wearing women’s clothes and makeup” as “alleged unbiblical behavior.” Yet, they were careful not to condemn 1819 News, the ones who made the pictures public, as committing what should be obvious to all Christians as “unbiblical behavior.”

Some might think this man, who was a Baptist minister, is not worthy of our pity because he lived a secret life, but that secret life made him happy. I know how conflicting and confusing it can be for someone to believe they are being forced to live a secret life. He probably felt he had no other choice. If someone had outed me while I worked at a small private school in Alabama, I’d have been devastated and humiliated. I’m not sure what I would have done. The internal pressures this man felt were there because of centuries of hatred for who he really was. I’m sure he had enough self-hatred without the help of 1819 News. I don’t know what kind of preacher this man was, but I hope that he was the kind who preached about love and kindness and that “sufferings are experienced by [our] brotherhood in the world.”

On the Wednesday night (southern churches often have Wednesday night services), the minister took to the pulpit at First Baptist Church to denounce the post about him, claiming he was a “victim of an internet attack.” He then read from the 23rd Psalm as he delivered a short sermon. “God will always protect you, take care of you,” he said. “He will see you through anything, absolutely anything.”

Our adversaries who walk about like a roaring lion, seeking whom they may devour are not humble people. Christ taught over and over that we should be humble. Jesus was clear in the Beatitudes:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.” (Matthew 5:3-11)

Homophobic Christofascists hate us to the point that they want us dead and are more than happy to drive us to kill ourselves. They ruined this man’s life through their hatred, and while they should be prosecuted for what they did and charged with no less than accessory to murder, I know nothing will come of it. Yet, this man died because he was doing something that made him happy and did not harm anyone else. Sadly, the Speaker of the House of Representatives is a homophobic Christofascists. Like so many Republicans, especially those who are ardent supporters of the orange traitor, they walk about like roaring lions, seeking whom they may devour.

Remember, God “gives grace to the humble.”