Prayerful Underpinnings

All week long, I've been hearing the words from the collect assigned for the Fifth Sunday in Lent:
O Almighty God, who alone canst order the unruly wills and
affections of sinful men: Grant unto thy people that they may
love the thing which thou commandest, and desire that
which thou dost promise; that so, among the sundry and
manifold changes of the world, our hearts may
surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus
Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the
Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
These words stood out for me as the struggle for full equality for the LGBT citizens of my county took another step forward. On Tuesday, our County Commission voted 4-3 to move forward with preparing additional definitions and language for our Human Rights Ordinance to expand it to cover LGBT citizens in employment and housing protection. There was an attempt to put the amendment up for a public vote, a sure-fire way of causing incredible pain and anger. Thankfully, Commissioners Rackleff, Thaell, Akinyemi and Dailey saw through the cynicism of that motion and put the proposal on a course to final adoption in May.

As I listened to the debate and discussion, I was stunned to, once more, hear the equality opponents raise the term "special rights". I thought that argument had gone out of vogue after the 90s, but clearly there is still a belief that it is a "special right" to want to be protected from being fired from a job or denied housing based on my sexual orientation. They also claim this ordinance will hurt business owners. Afterall, the proposal would force businesses with five or more employees to treat all customers and employees equitably. How unfair and unChristian, eh? There will be an attempt to change this requirement to match the state's level of protection (Human Rights Ordinances apply to businessses with 15 or more employees). Trouble is, in Leon County, that would exempt far too many workplaces from complying with the ordinance. According to the state's Agency for Workforce Innovation, Leon County has 2200 businesses with five employees. There are 898 with 15 employees. Seems that when we talk about "small business" in our community, we mean "small", and workers there deserve to be protected.

How this connects back to the collect: without it, I would have felt quite angry and discouraged listening to the trio on the Commission who have hardened their hearts to the realities that face those of us who are an L, G, B or T. But the collect is a quiet reminder of the underpinning of truth for me, and I believe, the world. God alone has the ability to make right our hearts and minds... especially of those with the authority of government. It doesn't happen with great fanfare, or lightening bolts. I'm not looking for plagues, or frogs, to overrun the districts served by Commissioners Proctor, Sauls and Desloge. But I have to put trust that God will continue to make known the command to them, and to us, that our first obligation is to love God. And from that posture of loving God pours out the multi-colored reflections of what actively loving God does. It should make one see God in the eyes of the stranger. It should make one see God in the care of the natural resources. It should make one see that those who are strong must support the weak. Fix your heart on those things, and stick with those principles, and it helps to quell the anger when you hear the words of those with hardened hearts.
Doesn't always work for me. I, too, can forget and find myself getting knocked away from that centeredness on God, which is why I call myself "a work in progress". I just hope I keep progressing! :)