It’s going to be OK

I’ve started several posts over the last couple of weeks, but every time I do there seems to be a new development in the world. We have been living in crazy times over the last several days and it seems that there are so many different sides to all these different issues, it’s hard to make out what we all should be doing.

But here’s what I want you to do: Sit back, relax, take a deep breath, and repeat after me, “It’s going to be OK. It’s going to be OK. It’s going to be OK….”

Repeat as necessary.

No, we aren’t living in the very last days. (Well, figuratively speaking, we’re always closer to the last days than we were before…) The events of the last few days are not signs or symptoms of Armageddon. It’s going to be OK. Really it is. Let’s break it down.

I’m going to start with the tragic events in Charleston. On June 17, 2015, Dylan Roof allegedly entered Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston, South Carolina and shot and killed 9 people. He was later arrested and is being held without bail.

And while this even is very tragic, what unfolded, and is continuing to unfold as of this writing, is…. different. Very different than the reactions that have happened after shootings in the past.

While there are a few that want to talk about gun control and that whole hot-button issue, most are talking about the possible racial motivations behind this massacre and that has led to a HUGE discussion over….

The Confederate flag.

Or more accurately, what we commonly call the confederate flag but is the battle flag of the Army of North Virginia during the Civil War. Today it’s become a symbol of…. well, many things to many people.  And that’s why this has become such a huge thing.

It all started when authorities started looking into the suspect of the church shooting, Dylan Roof. Mr. Roof maintained a website laced with racist language and pictures of him venerating the confederate flag and others of him burning the American flag.

This triggered a national discussion. “What, exactly, does this flag stand for?” But the real ignition of this debate was when a South Carolina legislator suggested that maybe it was time to take the flag down from all state-funded, non-museum displays. Including the South Carolina state capitol.

Whoosh. Now it’s burning out of control like a forest fire. Pro-confederate-flag rallies are springing up all over the place. News sites are talking about it, blogs and twitter accounts are all abuzz.  “Don’t ban the flag” some are saying, “Take down this symbol of slavery and oppression” others are saying.  When TV Land took the Dukes of Hazzard off the air, some people lost their minds. Others responded with “What is TV Land?”

But I’m here to assure you, it’s going to be OK.

My personal opinion is that the flag belongs in a museum. But the first amendment right of free speech shouldn’t be squashed, not even for this. No one, except the state of South Carolina, is proposing that the flag be banned, and South Carolina is only saying “take it off the state capitol”, no one is saying that ordinary citizens are going to have it taken away.

It’s going to be OK.

Like all such things, this controversy will die down. Those that went out and bought hundreds of flags will stuff them into boxes in their basements and closets. Others will continue to use them as ad-hoc curtains and things will go back to normal. Though one can hope that society will be a little more educated and polite afterward.

It’s going to be OK.

The next thing has been lost in all the hoopla of other events, but politicos are still talking about it and it’s sure to come up in the discussions in the coming US election. The Supreme Court ruling on what is popularly known as Obamacare (The Affordable Care Act).

Many saw this lawsuit as the Last Chance Hail Mary pass to kill the act. The suit focused on a few tiny words that seemed to say only states that had set up their own marketplace had access to certain funds mean to subsidize families and individuals purchasing health insurance. The challengers argued that the language meant that states that had snot set up their own exchanges yet shouldn’t have that money.

Long story short, the Supreme Court ruled against the challengers and the Act was allowed to stand. Of course, the Court was split along party lines, 5-4. And the dissenting justices wrote very scathing opinions, but Obamacare stands.

And, for a couple of days, people freaked out. New cries of “Legislating from the bench” and “Obama is a communist” and on and on.

But let me assure you, it’s going to be OK.

My opinion is that while the implementation of the Act has been troublesome (mostly due to insurance companies wanting ot make sure they still get paid), the Act itself is agood thing and in the long run it will be seen as the best thing any President has done since the Depression. Health will improve, people can work more, take care of their families, and things will overall improve for just about everyone.

It’s going to be OK.

Right on the heels of the Obamacare ruling, the Supreme Court dropped what is surely to be remembered at the biggest human rights ruling since…. well, maybe ever. On June 26, 2015, the ruling on Obergefell v. Hodges essentially means that same-sex marriage is Constitutional, legal, and the law of the land.

And the country lost it’s mind.

Politicians, preachers, and pretty much everyone is chiming in on the topic. County clerks are quitting becasue they don’t want to issue smae sex marriage licenses. The LGBTQ community is celebrating, as they should. And people that don’t seem to have a clue are now saying they should be allowed to marry their dogs.

Let me once again remind you , it’s going to be OK.

The Supreme Court ruling only affects the civil side of a wedding ceremony. Long ago the government figured out it could make money by making people buy a license to marry. The Uniform Marriage and Marriage License act was passed in 1823 and it wasn’t until 1829 that all states had marriage license laws. Obergefell v. Hodges only applies to that part of a wedding. No one is forcing churches or chapels or any other privately owned facility to hold a wedding of any kind. The truth is that you don’t have to even have a wedding ceremony to start a marriage. You need a license, an official of some kind, and two witnesses. Churches don’t even have to be involved.

And one thing to keep in mind: it’s still legal for a church to deny a wedding ceremony for a “mixed race” couple. If that is still “on the books” then it’s going to take a lot before anyone canforce churches to do anything.

It’s going to be OK.

My opinion is that, overall, this is a good thing. I am a Bible-believing Christian, and I’m still very conflicted about what God’s opinion on homosexuality is. In spite of what many would have you think, the Bible is not crystal clear on many topics, including this one, when you look at the original language of the transcripts (as they currently exist) and the historical context of when they were written. There is no verse that says “Thou Shalt Not Issue A Marriage License To Same Sex Couples”. It’s just not there. The same goes for the so-called Biblical Definition of Marriage. Throughout the Bible there are cases of incest and polygamy and marriage-as-a-way-to-keep-you-landthat are presented as just a matter of business. Marriage in Biblical times was abhorrent by our modern view.

But my opinion doesn’t matter. What matters is the Constitution. Everyone should have equal rights. And whether God thinks it’s right or wrong isn’t the question the Supreme Court was trying to answer. It’s what the Constitution imples. And I think that in this matter they read the Constitution correctly.

And what we in the church need to do now is just let it go. Move on. All this time there are far more important matters that we should have spent our time and money on  – homelessness, hunger, poverty, disease. We need to quit shutting our doors and telling people they are out when  we should be flinging them wide and welcoming them with a cool drink and a meal.

It’s going to be OK.

Really. Honestly. It’s going to be OK. If you believe as I do, then you follow God. And if we follow Go we have to trust that He has things under contol. And if He has things under control, then it’s going to be OK.

Things change. all of us, religious or not, have to accept that. And above all we have to accept that things don’t always change fthe way we’d like them to. The longer you are set in your ways, the lests resistent you are to change. The churhc, above al others, has been set  in it’s ways for too long. It’s been comfortable having a say in politics and there are many that are really going to hate to admit that it’s time we stop wrapping ourselves in the American flag and admit that we need need to focus on the Kingom of God and less on the Kingdom of man.

It’s really, honestly, truly, going to be OK.