I was born and raised in the South. White. Middle class. Conservative. By all accounts I am still all of those things. I have lived in the South all of my life. I am proud of how living in the South has formed me and shaped me. The South is not perfect, as is no other part of the United States, but many of the positives of the region have shaped me for the better.
Having presented that caveat, however, I want to weigh in on the Confederate Flag issue. As a believer, I am guided and driven by a set of principles revealed in the Bible. A deep love and appreciation for God’s Word, by the way, is a by-product of my Southern heritage. We are known as the “Bible Belt.” As a follower of Jesus, my wishes, goals, ambitions, and priorities are surrendered to Him and His will and purpose, and His Word becomes the guide for my belief, thought, perspective, and especially my practice.
In a few places in Scripture – most notably Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8 – Paul addresses the “right” of redeemed, under-grace followers of Jesus to eat meat that may have first passed through pagan temples on its way to the public market place. For some, this was a major no-no. No conscientious believer would financially support the pagan industry nor run the risk of pagan influence in their lives or their family by eating such meat as this. To avoid that risk, they abstained from eating meat all together just in case they might by accident eat some that had indeed been offered to a pagan idol. “Better to be safe than sorry” could have been their motto.
On the other side of the issue were those believers who recognized that idols were not real, they were the machinations of human minds and hands, and therefore, even if meat had been offered to those idols, it didn’t matter. Since the idol was not real, neither was the perceived threat involved in eating the meat. Their motto may have been “I am not bound by the old law, I live under grace.” Both sides loved Jesus, included godly people, and sought to do what was “right.”
In both cases, Paul presented a principle that I believe can be applied broadly to many issues we face today. “Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.” (1 Corinthians 8:13) Paul recognized a greater priority than exercising one’s own personal freedom, and that was the priority of building each other up in Christ. In the Romans passage he also stated another guiding principle, “Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God.” (Romans 14:20)
As it relates to the current Confederate battle flag issue, we must recognize that what represents a cherished heritage to one represents a painful heritage to another. Whether or not one should be “offended” by a flag is an unsolvable argument. If I hit my thumb with a hammer, you can tell me it shouldn’t hurt, but it does. For my African American brothers and sisters in Christ the Confederate battle flag hurts. To them it represents mistreatment, discrimination, and inequity. To say that in my lifetime those atrocities have not occurred to people of color is to ignore truth.
Loving my brothers and sisters in Christ more important that vaunting my Southern heritage. If something I do brings a genuine offense, then I will avoid it for their sake. I will not for the sake of a flag destroy the work of God. The present work and future advancement of the Kingdom of God is more important than my past heritage. Therefore, if a flag makes my brother stumble, I will not fly a flag, lest I make my brother stumble.
In his book, The Passion Promise, John Avant relates a story coming out of Desert Storm.