It’s that time of year again.
Every June, schools, corporations, government institutions, and even some churches dedicate an entire month to celebrating LGBTQ+ identities and causes. As believers, most of us know someone who identifies as LGBTQ+, making this more than a cultural issue, it’s a personal one.
So what is the issue with Pride Month?
The concern is not loving people. Christians are called to do that. The concern is the worldview behind the movement.
Messages such as “love is love,” “be true to yourself,” “I am what I feel,” and “live your truth” place personal feelings and desires in the highest position of authority. Christianity teaches the opposite. Truth does not come from within us; it comes from God.
Scripture warns us:
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” — Jeremiah 17:9
That verse directly challenges a culture that tells us to trust our hearts above everything else. Christians believe our feelings, desires, and identities must be submitted to God, not elevated above Him.
This is where the phrase “love is love” falls short.
Love alone cannot define truth. Love can be a powerful emotion, but it is not our authority. The Apostle John writes:
“He that doesn’t love, does not know God; for God is love.” — 1 John 4:8
Notice the distinction. Scripture does not say that love is God. It says that God is love.
When love becomes the authority, people are free to define it however they choose. When God is the authority, love is defined by His character and His truth.
This worldview has consequences.
It affects churches when pastors become afraid to preach the full counsel of God for fear of offending people. It affects businesses when companies publicly embrace causes they may not genuinely believe in because remaining silent could bring criticism or bad press. And it affects families when children are repeatedly taught ideas about identity and sexuality that may directly contradict what their parents are teaching them at home.
Parents should be the primary influence in the moral and spiritual formation of their children. Yet many parents feel as though they are constantly competing with schools, entertainment, social media, and cultural institutions that are eager to shape their children’s beliefs.
Christians should reject hatred, cruelty, and personal attacks. We should treat every person with kindness, respect, and compassion. But loving people does not require affirming every belief, behavior, or ideology.
Too often, our culture presents a false choice: celebrate everything or hate everyone. Christians should reject both options.
We are called to love people while remaining faithful to the truth.
That means speaking with humility, showing grace, and refusing to compromise what God has said. Our goal is not to control people’s lives. Our goal is to point people to God.
The world says, “love is love.”
Scripture points us to a greater truth:
God is love.
When love is detached from God, it becomes whatever people want it to be. But when love is rooted in God, it has meaning, purpose, and direction.
In a culture constantly redefining love, Christians must hold fast to both truth and love, trusting the God who defines them both.
