Can I be honest? I really don’t understand defending the Confederate flag. Like, it doesn’t register with me how someone can defend it flying at a statehouse or capitol. I don’t understand flying it at your house or having it as a sticker on your vehicle. I understand many make the argument of honoring the past and I get the rebellious nature of being southern and always wanting to stick it to the Yankees, but I mean come on. You may say, well it isn’t a symbol of hate, it isn’t about racism. But, it is easy to say that when it wasn’t your ancestors who were held in slavery or your grandparents who were denied a seat at the lunch counter while this flag flew. It may represent history to you but it doesn’t to thousand if not millions of Americans. That should be enough for you. It should be enough for you to think about how our African American brothers and sisters feel about seeing that particular flag fly. It should be enough for us to admit the Civil War was about slavery. You may say it was not all about slavery. You may say it was about states rights above all, but what right were they fighting for? You may say it was about money, but how was that money made? Slavery is wrong. Morally and absolutely wrong. All humanity is made in the image of God and all humanity has dignity. The South was wrong in owning slaves.

I want to challenge white Christians here especially. We are to be people marked by love, service, and humility. All Christians are. A part of this is for us as white Christians is to listen to our African American brothers and sisters in Christ. We need unity. We must fight for unity with one another. I believe we need unity among racial lines if the church in America is to be the church we are called to be. In this fight for unity many times we must give up our own opinions and preferences for the sake of our brothers and sisters. If the flag offends, and it does, then take it down and stand with those who are offended by its presence. Instead of fighting to keep what our brothers and sisters in Christ see as offensive and filled with hate we should be fighting by their side for justice in so many other areas. We should be just as outraged, and I would argue much more so, by our brothers and sister’s churches burning as we are about a perceived threat of the culture and our religious freedom, yet we speak much more clearly and forcefully on the latter. We are one church, filled with one Spirit, bought by one Savior who will spend eternity together around the same throne praising the same God. How about we fight for that same kind of unity now, today? Stand with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Let go of being outraged about the need to preserve history. Sacrifice and humbly listen to brothers and sisters different than you. Take down that flag.