Brace Yourselves: Your June Social Media

June used to be filled with end-of-school parties, springtime planting, watermelon, pools prepping for summer, the first day of summer, and (of course) Father’s Day. Well, those things are still in June (okay, some schools get out earlier), but in the last several years, there’s another Juneism that floods our social media platforms: rainbows.

Don’t get me wrong; I love rainbows. Rainbows signify God’s promise, but sadly rainbows have come to secularly signify pride and that’s something for which I cannot support. Pride, not love, sprouts up everywhere in June. Stores cover themselves in it, everyone’s feeds are flooded with color, and many towns engage as well. Let’s take a moment to separate the sin from the sentiment.

I do not support bullying, depression, suicide, or anything of the sort. Now that’s out of the way. The ‘pride’ movement is intended (by well-meaning people I might add) to boost morale and support a marginalized group and prevent all those things I previously mentioned that I do not support. It’s a kind gesture by most (in my area at least) to try to show love for those otherwise struggling. Okay, that’s the sentiment but what about the sin and what I do not support?

I do not support pride, nor does God. Let’s be frank: I’m not absent from sin myself, pride included, so is meant to be informative and not accusative. This is why I mention there’s a sentiment aside from the sin. Many people think that by supporting the pride movement, they’re helping and supporting all the letters of the alphabet. Are they?

“Be on your guard!* If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.” Luke 17:3

If one of my kids is into hurting himself or endangering himself through some dangerous act, I’m not going to start supporting him and call it love. I’m going to urge him to do better and explain why. Neither am I going to beat him or bully him into submission, but, with love, I will make every effort to tell him the truth and pray he comes around. In short, I’m going to correct him.

When certain sins in this world are not seen as sins, this method is seen as hateful. Who could’ve planted that idea? No guesses please; it’s too obvious for those paying attention. Granted hate had also arisen among and against the marginalized in forms of bullying or harming others. It’s very unfortunate because it not only leads to injury of the sinner, but it drives that sinner to sin even more.

We, as Catholics, as Christians, are to admonish sinners as a Spiritual Act of Mercy. In this upside down world, we are instead leading parades and touting support for something long understood as sin. What’s more, now its support is named after a sin: pride. There are so many verses to quote, but here’s two to sum it up.

“Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world. Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever.” 1 John 2:15-17

“Pride goes before disaster, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18

As we go into the month that should be filled with Father’s Day (another analogy of rebellion!), let’s brace ourselves for the coming onslaught of pride and the ruined rainbow leading the charge. Let’s prepare our hearts (and dialog) to defend the faith and show love, true love!, in the form of patience, perseverance, and admonishment where we can. In the least, we must not support the movement. We can be a better example of God’s correcting love. We must.