Reflections on Pride Month: A Christian Response in Turbulent Times

Stephanie M.
Jun 9
4 min read

If you’ve stepped outside or ventured onto the internet in the past week, you’ll likely have noticed that the world gets much more colorful this time of year. Why is that?

A Growing Movement

Well, if you live in the US, France, Ireland or parts of New Zealand, June has been a month designated to celebrating Pride for more than 50 years (though it wasn’t federally recognized in the US until 1999) and has evolved worldwide in its inclusion of various LGBT+ groups over the years (1).

In Canada, there’s even an entire season dedicated to Pride each year, stretching from June to September.

It seems to me that every year, the various festivals, celebrations and marches grow in number and reach. Many companies don rainbow colors in their logos and merchandise in support of all those affiliated with the various LGBT+ communities.

Even MonopolyGo has added Pride flags in its app (screenshot below).

Colorful board game map with rainbow flags, red umbrellas, a player token, and a GO button labeled HOLD FOR AUTO.

I can’t help but wonder, though, what does this mean for Christians? What should our position or place be in all of this? That’s what I want to look at today.

Navigating Turbulent Waters

For many years, it was relatively easy to avoid the focus of this month altogether. It wasn’t as loud and, well, proud, for lack of a better word.

Up until somewhat recently, there were laws in place preventing some of the LGBT+ activities that various groups aspired to participate in, such as same-sex marriage.

I’m not saying Christians avoided sharing their beliefs on the matter completely, but some laws spoke for us on different issues, so we could hide behind them, in a sense.

Though tensions were always present, they were fairly calm waters for believers.

From 1999 to 2014, numerous states and courts pushed and debated the legality of same-sex marriages, with some making attempts to legalize them (2).

At this point, the waters were becoming agitated, but manageable, for Christians, as we still had federal law in agreement with us.

Then, in 2015, the storm hit. We had officially entered turbulent waters.

On June 26, 2015 (during Pride month, interestingly enough), in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges, the US Supreme Court ruled that state bans on same-sex marriage were unconstitutional, effectively legalizing them (3).

I say this is when we entered turbulent waters, because we’d officially reached a point where Christ followers were faced with the decision to stay firm in their beliefs and ride the waves that came with standing against what our government deemed legal, or “jump ship,” per se.

This monumental shift stands out in my mind because I remember thinking, at the time, that this was going to reveal a lot of hearts. And reveal hearts it did.

Three rainbow pride pins: same-sex couple icons on left and right, overlapping female symbols in center, on white background.

What is Love

In the months (and years) that followed the Supreme Court ruling, I watched as both sides of the issue dripped with hate.

Some who professed to be Christians expressed their outrage in hateful ways, and some individuals in the LGBT+ community engaged similarly towards Christians. It was like watching a tennis match between two people who deeply loathed each other. It was, and still is, ugly.

So who truly celebrates love?

Is it the one who spews insults and says hateful things about the other group? Or is it the one who is seeking acceptance and equality? I’d say neither.

Love is not yelling at someone until they agree with you. And it’s not telling someone to do whatever they want because it makes them happy.

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. ~ 1 John 4:16

What exactly is the love God has for us? In this specific verse, the word for “love” is agapé in the Greek, which means “charity, affection, or benevolence.”

This word for “love” is found 116 times in the New Testament. It’s not romantic love, but rather a holy, selfless affection toward someone. It originates from God, is beautifully displayed in Jesus, and lives inside every believer, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (4).

We love because He first loved us. ~1 John 4:19

God’s love is eternal. It initiates.

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ~Romans 12:9

God’s love speaks truth, and it’s active. It doesn’t sit on the sidelines and watch. God’s love is the reason believers shine a light on His design for marriage and relationships, as reflected in Scripture.

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. ~ Luke 6:32

God’s love perseveres, even when it’s returned with hatred. His love empowers believers to speak up and protect what He calls holy — not because of an arbitrary rule, but for the benefit of His creation.

Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. ~ Ephesians 5:1–2

So again, what should the believer’s response be right now, while the world is celebrating Pride? We should be out in the world, speaking the truth in love to everyone, because all humans were created in God’s image, whether they follow Christ or not.

In our homes, we should be teaching our children that God created marriage for one man and one woman for one lifetime. Our place is lovingly running after those who are separated from God, because we care more about their eternal salvation than our temporary, earthly comfort.

Thanks for reading! My heart is truly to see others dive deeper into Scripture and reason through things biblically. These are wild times, but together we can chase clarity in a confused world!

If that sounds like something you want to do, please consider following Rooted in Reason so you’ll be notified when there’s a new post.

Press on, friends! 🫶🏼