There is a sign that most of mankind has known which has been stolen during our place in time.  It is the multi-colored prism in the atmosphere that shows after a hard afternoon rain – the rainbow.  The hues of the Creator’s paintbrush appear in order to remind us all of a promise.  Yet in our culture it has become the badge adopted by individuals who find sexual attraction to others with the same anatomy.

This is not an article about perfect or permissible behavior as defined by one group in society versus that of another group.  For all men are flawed, especially the writer here, and on a daily basis at that.  Let it be stated again — I am nothing close to a moral paragon for others to follow.  Rather, this post deals with the lack of shame and flaunting of a lifestyle that is unnatural for humans and the snatching of a sacred symbol.

Both the rainbow and homosexual attraction are introduced to us in the Genesis story, the beginning of all beginnings.  Ten chapters separate the famous and infamous stories of both accounts.  Fast forward thousands of years to the 21st Century and we find the homosexual community ignoring the promise given with the rainbow, whether ignorantly or outright, believing it to be an allegory in an outdated book.  How clever of the LGBTQ movement. And what has been used in art to highlight children playing in a field (innocence) or the location of a pot of gold (fortune) – both of which could be a natural extraction from reading the Genesis story – is now used to represent a particular lifestyle choice that causes the Creator much irritation.

The rainbow was given by the Maker, via a change to the earth’s physics & meteorology, as a sign that He would not again destroy the world with a flood.  Considering the time, place and the circumstances surrounding that first rainbow, this was a weighty promise.  Ten chapters later we read of the two infamous cities, Sodom & Gomorrah, that were destroyed by fire, in large part because of the prevalence of sexual deviance, including homosexuality, though not limited to it.  Can you image a society of murderers, for instance, snagging a symbol of God’s promise?  Murder, too, was prevalent in Genesis, as was idolatry, envy, dishonesty and many other vices of history.

The result of the hijacked rainbow on bumper stickers, web sites, trade marks, logos, clothing, et al, is that now it is thought to represent diverse sexual behavior (just as the diverse colors) rather than as a symbol of promise between Creator and creation.  Rainbow depictions today convey a message that the displaying organization is “homosexual friendly.”  Think what your reaction might be if it meant cheat-on-your-spouse friendly or theft friendly, also behaviors frowned on in the text.  The promise behind the rainbow is one of the first given to people by the Lord.  It’s one less thing to be concerned with in a world of natural disasters.

While many homosexuals profess belief in the God of the Bible — and I am NOT one to say whether or not this profession is sincere or genuine because only the Lord knows one’s heart — we can draw some conclusions about the movement by the use of such a sign.

The first is that the rainbow, duh, represents many stripes.  It occurs to me that the LGBTQ’s use of the rainbow has everything to do with sexual behavior and nothing to do with talent, skills, personality or intellect.  Second, we can conclude that at least some of the leaders of the movement know the Biblical story and wrestle with their behavioral choice.  The irony of those things (the rainbow & homosexuality) being discussed so early in the Bible and mashed together in this campaign cannot be lost or easily dismissed.  This shows, thirdly, that the struggles mankind has always dealt with are still obstacles today.

Surely no one chooses homosexuality over the natural design for a partner of the opposite sex.  While this may be true as thousands of gays sincerely profess, the urge for a unauthorized lifestyle (from the Creator’s intent) does not force the behavior.  But they wrestle with it, attempting to justify their choices to themselves and relatives, and the LGBTQ movement tries to squash any negative comments in society toward their defining behavior, believing this will make it easy for them to accept for themselves what they know to be awry.

Postings such as this normally polarize the reader, sending him/her to a corner to condone or condemn such “articulate” or “asinine” views.  But look beyond the sexual behavior itself and think of how the rainbow is used throughout our culture today.  There are far more Jewish, Christian and even secular admirers of the flood-rainbow story than there are homosexual activists who think it’s irrelevant.  Yet they have branded their image with something meant for hope and twisted it to the point that they partially own the rainbow display in pop-culture.  It would be similar to a sworn enemy of the United States manipulating the world into believing that its flag, the Stars & Stripes, represents any and all forms of government, not the one enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.

It is time for such symbols as the rainbow to be reclaimed and to have its proper meaning restored.  As we all struggle to make the most of this life, let us at least agree not to co-opt the very symbols the Lord gave us of His promises.

jrw