To begin with the month of June was marked by a month-long celebration of two deadly sins, according to God’s divine revelation:  pride and sexual immorality.  For one, rainbow flags were flown everywhere—especially at the White House.  They were also flown with the American flag at many of our embassies in far off places. Such flags celebrate and flaunt diverse sexual acts and relationships God has clearly communicated to be evil.  The most evident one relates to homosexual acts and relationships. 

June 2022 closes and ends today.  Weather-wise, it was a mixture of exceptionally high temperatures accompanied by milder temperatures.  Precipitation-wise, it was normal.  At least, these facts relate to where I live.  Climate-wise, this is just a short recap.

Definition-wise, climate primarily refers specifically to weather conditions.  It’s the science of Meteorology.  However, there is a third definition given that communicates climate also refers to “the prevailing attitudes, standards, or environmental conditions of a group, period, or place.”  It’s the condition of a culture.  These thoughts relate to the latter definition.

June 2022 was sadly and lamentably a month clearly revealing this nation’s, this society’s low ebb in moral integrity and steep decline in righteousness.  Such a decline, of course, relates to a spiritual climate defined as “a headlong fall or rush.”  In this regard it was as precipitous as rainfall.

To begin with the month of June was marked by a month-long celebration of two deadly sins, according to God’s divine revelation:  pride and sexual immorality.  For one, rainbow flags were flown everywhere—especially at the White House.  They were also flown with the American flag at many of our embassies in far off places. Such flags celebrate and flaunt diverse sexual acts and relationships God has clearly communicated to be evil.  The most evident one relates to homosexual acts and relationships.  God created and gave the rainbow as a covenant reminder of his past condemnation of his earthly creation due to horrendous sin and rebellion and promise to never again use water to destroy the entire earth.  It is ironic and blasphemous to use it to celebrate sinfulness.  All month long, the media forced us to be witnesses to such open and unabashed flaunting of a sinful nature and practices he named as “shameful, indecent, abominable, detestable, unnatural.”  To be proud of a sinful sexual orientation or acts has to be unimaginable to say the least.  Just think, no one boasts of pride in a natural sexual orientation or acts.  One’s primary identity is not based on one physical or emotional area of life.

Some might prefer to remember June 2022 with its 24^th day in which the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, wherein abortion policies were returned to the states.  Yes, that was a historic day and a positive ruling.  However, the outpouring of protests against the decision hyped by the media over a lengthy period of time has diminished to some degree the joy expressed believing more babies would be allowed to be born and to live.  The culture of death is ironically very alive and well. Isn’t that a strange paradox?  In fact, one state even seeks to legalize infanticide up to so many days following birth. It’s disheartening to see so many in favor of killing the most innocent and vulnerable among us.  The methods of destroying the unborn, the about-to-be born, the partially-born, and the just-born match, if not exceed, methods the Nazis used in the mass murder of millions.  How can anyone approve of poisoning, burning, cracking open the skull and sucking out the brain, or the dismemberment of these tiny, precious souls?  Additionally, some churches and pro-life organizations have been attacked and vandalized.

June of 2022 revealed something about us as a nation and a society.  It revealed we have as a culture returned to the paganism of the ancient empires of Greece and Rome.  In fact, we may have exceeded them in sacrificing innocent human beings and flaunting sexual immoralities.  Yes, this latter is plural because it doesn’t relate only or solely to deviant lifestyles and practices, but also to heterosexual immoralities.

For Christians, these are indications of grave rebellions against a holy, just and righteous God.  There are, nonetheless, others including Jews, Muslims, other religions, and even non-religious people who sense we have seriously lost our way.

Was June 2022 sadly and lamentably a month clearly revealing this nation’s, this society’s low ebb in moral integrity and steep decline in righteousness?  If there is agreement to this perception—even if partially—perhaps there is something we could do to July to manifest our great sadness and lament.  Let’s make July 2022 the opposite of a month of Pride by making it a month of Humility.  Let’s call it such and let’s practice it as such by confessing our sorrow and lament for the condition of our nation and society.  Godlessness and indecency have taken over our culture.

The Jewish prophet, Jeremiah, was called “the weeping prophet.”  He wrote a book called Lamentations.  We can reiterate Jeremiah’s words:

This I recall to my mind; therefore, have I hope. It is of Jehovah’s
lovingkindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassions
fail not. They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness. . . Let us
search and try our ways and turn again to Jehovah. Let us lift up our heart
with our hands unto God in the heavens. Lamentations 3: 21-23, 40-41

As we bid farewell to June 2022, let’s respond to July’s opening door with its emphasis on Independence by complementing it with an emphasis on Dependence, that is, dependence on a gracious God to forgive and spare us and inter-dependence on one another to stand for humble godliness and decency.  It will take prayers and vocal speaking the truth in love to make a difference—not anger or hate.

America deserves men and women who care for her soul and who promote genuine justice and righteousness.  The vehicle to those blessings for all is a spirit of humility.

Helen Louise Herndon is a member of Central Presbyterian Church (EPC) in St. Louis, Missouri. She is freelance writer and served as a missionary to the Arab/Muslim world in France and North Africa..