Whitlock: Pro sports leagues riding the gay and black ‘Pride’ paths to hell

The Bible stakes a clear position on pride. It is regarded as Satan’s aphrodisiac of choice, more powerful than wine, drugs, money, or brute force. A series of verses in the book of Proverbs spell out God’s position on pride.

Proverbs 11:2: “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.”

Proverbs 16:18: “One’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.”

Proverbs 8:13: “The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.”

Proverbs 16:18: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

Roman Catholics believe pride is one of seven deadly sins – lust, greed, envy, sloth, gluttony, and envy are the others – and the root of all sin.

Ivan Provorov, a defenseman for the Philadelphia Flyers, belongs to the Russian Orthodox Church, an offshoot of Roman Catholicism. No one should be surprised that he declined to participate in his team’s “Pride Night” activities. In fact, no serious Christian should involve himself with any celebration of pride, whether it’s gay pride, black pride, trans pride, American pride, Egg McMuffin pride, or even pride pride.

Pride is rooted in idolatry, the prioritization of a symbol, a thing, or an activity above worship of God.

Tuesday night, during pregame warm-ups, Provorov refused to wear an LGBTQ+ jersey and use a stick with rainbow tape. He told reporters he wanted to stay true to himself and his religion. His decision spurred derision and pushback from inside and outside the hockey world. NHL Network broadcaster Ethan Hradek suggested that Provorov should go fight in the Ukraine-Russian war.

“Ivan Provorov can get on a plane any day he wants and go back to a place where he feels more comfortable, take less money, and get on with his life that way if that’s problematic for him. If this is that much of a problem for him, to maybe assimilate into his group of teammates and in the community here in this country, that’s OK. Listen, you can feel any way you want. But the beauty is, if it bothers you that much, there’s always a chance to leave, go back to where you feel more comfortable – I understand there’s a conflict of sorts going on over there, maybe get involved.”

Tim Micallef, host of a popular sports talk show in Canada, ripped Provorov with the popular wrong-side-of-history argument.

“I will always be on the side of equality,” he said. “People will hide behind ideologies, like amazingly enough, religion. But I’m strong on this one and quite comfortable. Either you are for equality or you’re on the wrong side of history. Period.”

Some men pursue God, not history. Man is the God of recorded history. Micallef and others worship man. Provorov worships God.

Man believes pride is a virtue. The Bible says pride is Satan’s best tool for destruction. Who am I to believe?

I see the destructive power of pride on a daily basis. Even man’s written history reflects pride’s destructiveness. White supremacy is rooted in racial pride/racial idolatry. Black pride works just the same way as white pride. That’s why proponents of Black Lives Matter delight in having white people kneel and beg forgiveness.

The prioritization of skin color as a primary identity has led black people to embrace and defend a culture that denigrates and dehumanizes black people. We ignore the slaughter of our children based on the race of the killer. That’s black pride. It forbids black people to hate their sin. God commands us to hate sin, not people. Hating sin is good.

“The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.”

America’s embrace of pride has reversed God’s directive. We hate people and celebrate sin.

Ivan Provorov is hated now because his faith compels him to avoid celebrating a lifestyle the Bible says is unhealthy. He disagrees with feigning pride in an activity he believes is wrong. He does not hate gay people. He’s not advocating that we deny gay people fundamental freedoms, rights, and respect. He’s rejecting pride, a deadly sin in his mind.

What would lead to a better society: hating people or rejecting pride?

The answer is easy. We should reject pride. It spawns wickedness and division. People’s sexual preference does not qualify them for a special night of celebration. Neither does a skin color.

Man’s nature is evil. Ivan Provorov and many other believers embrace the teachings in the Bible because it’s the best way to combat our destructive nature. Provorov wants to be on the right side of God because he knows man is incapable of producing a righteous world without biblical instruction.

Man uses hatred of man to produce justice. God tells us hatred of sin produces justice.

Let me make it simple. I have a weight problem. Man advises me to hate Ronald McDonald. God tells me to hate gluttony.

This sounds like a joke. It’s not. The woke have crafted arguments that obesity is a byproduct of white supremacy. Here’s one example. In a few years, the NHL and other sports leagues will be hosting Obesity Pride Nights. They’ll smother the hockey puck in gravy and demand that players eat fried chicken and cheeseburgers while on the ice.