The Confederate Flag Is Not The Problem

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12).”

Headline: "Democrat legislators introduce bill to end use of discriminatory words “husband” and “wife."

Headline: "Ex-Con Sues Publishers Over Bible Verses On Homosexuality."

Headline: "Is the New Orleans Saints Fleur-de-Lis Logo Offensive?"

Headline: "Alabama Town Removes Christian Flag after Atheist Complaint."

Headline: "Oregon Allows 15-Year-Olds to Get Sex-Change Operations without Parents' Consent."

Headline: "Canadian Court Rules Christian Law School Must Embrace Homosexuality to Keep Accreditation."

In the wake of the South Carolina Church murders, it seems that all people can talk about is the Confederate Battle Flag. Does it represent hate or heritage? Should it come down or stay? Because of this I took a moment and searched for other similar news and found the above headlines. The main thing that I discovered is that everybody is all up in arms about “symbols” and how they make others feel. And if someone finds a particular symbol offensive then it must come down. Last time I checked there is no right not to be offended. But, then again in this day and age there seems to be a “right” to just about anything. Not only will this type of behavior never stop, because people can be offended by almost anything, but we miss the point entirely. The real problem is not what some flag may represent, it isn’t about football logos, it isn’t about words, it isn’t about college credits and it isn’t about parental consent. The problem is what do people believe? All this uproar is about the fruit and not the root. There is this idea that if we just change the “symbols;” flags, words, logos, consent, etc., then all will be right in the world. But, these symbols and the desire to remove them or uphold them, are a reflection of what people believe in their hearts.

As a Christian, while I am all for upholding and standing for those things that represent the truth of God’s word, whether the symbols of what I believe stay or go doesn’t mean a person’s heart changes. If Gays couldn’t marry, if abortions stopped, if racism ended, if gender identity were restored and so on, it doesn’t mean that people are coming to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible says we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. And these symbols are byproducts of flesh and blood. The Bible says we wrestle against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness and “spiritual hosts of wickedness.” To me, this points directly at what people believe in their hearts and more importantly, who or what is influencing them to believe that way. All the symbols we fight for and against become insignificant when a person’s heart changes through a saving encounter with Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies (Matthew 15:18).” When a person’s heart changes through faith in Jesus Christ, the symbols they attach themselves to will be in accordance with their faith. Let us not wrestle against the symbols, but for the hearts from which those symbols come.