Let Your Voice Be Heard

A Chapter a Day

• Sunday, November 15, Psalm 44
• Monday, November 16, Psalm 45           
• Tuesday, November 17, Psalm 46
• Wednesday, November 18, Psalm 47
• Thursday, November 19, Psalm 48
• Friday, November 20, Psalm 49
• Saturday, November 21, Psalm 50

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When the wicked Haman hatched a plot to harm God’s people, Mordecai sent an urgent word to his cousin, Queen Esther, urging her to speak to the king.  She replied that to approach the king unbidden could likely result in her death. So, Mordecai sent her a further message to challenge her to speak up:

¹³ “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. ¹⁴ For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13-14, ESV)

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
(President John F. Kennedy, May 17, 1961, citing Edmund Burke)

Will you be , or will you let your be heard?

The Macon-Bibb County Commission is scheduled to vote on a sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) ordinance on Tuesday, November 17, that will impact every business and place of public accommodation in our county.  You may read the ordinance here.

Why is this ordinance not good for our county?

1. It is to the teaching of Jesus. 

Jesus said, ”Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female” (Matthew 19:4; cf. Genesis 1:27).

2. It will put women and girls in . 

It will force women and girls to share private spaces (bathrooms, locker rooms, etc.) with biological males. 

3. It will be used to and coerce small business owners (florists, photographers, videographers, cake bakers, etc.) who hold Jesus’ view of sexuality and marriage. 

No business owners should be coerced by the government to promote messages or celebrate events that are contrary to their religious convictions.

4. It will be used to violate the free and freedom rights of citizens. 

As scholar Ryan Anderson writes, SOGI laws “are not about freedom—they are about coercion.”  These laws “are about forcing all Americans to embrace—and live out—certain beliefs about human sexuality.  They are not about protecting the freedom of people to live as LGBT, but about coercing everyone else to support, facilitate, and endorse such actions.”

This ordinance purports to be a shield to protect LGBTQ people, but in reality it is a sword that will be used to intimidate, coerce, and punish people of faith.

5. This ordinance is just the next step down the   . 

Proponents will say that the ordinance only applies to businesses.  But their ultimate goal is clear.  They want coercive laws like this to apply to everyone – to every business, every school, and every non-profit.  Since they have so far not been able to pass the “Equality Act” at the federal level, their goal is to chip away at our liberties at the local and state levels.

“Let’s be clear.  No one should favor unjust discrimination.  All people are created in the image of God.  All people should be treated with dignity and respect.  All citizens should have equal justice under law.  But to grant special rights on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is not good public policy and will not produce fairness for all.” (Pastor’s Blog, 11.12.2020)

So what should we do?

1. We should contact our Macon-Bibb County Commissioners and respectfully ask that they oppose the ordinance. Contact information for the Commissioners may be found at this website.

2. We should also contact our Macon-Bibb County Mayor, Robert Reichert, and respectfully ask him to veto the ordinance should it be passed. 

His email address is reichert@maconbibb.us and his published phone number is 478-751-7170. 

3. We should that our leaders would choose the path that pleases God and is best for all of our citizens.

The Bible says that there is
“a time to be silent and a time to speak” (Ecclesiastes 3:7);
now is the time to let your voice be heard!