Talk about two words that hardly ever grace each other with their presence without a sharp argument. I have one disclaimer before this post: I am a learner. I try to keep that in mind in every post, but for this specific discussion I know that one insensitive word could land me in hot water. So I am letting you know now, I am entering this territory with an open heart and open mind. We can’t just avoid these topics though… so here we go.
I have something to admit…
Ok so no… I’m not gay, but I did watch Glee tonight (my wife just took a deep breath). The whole episode had this very emotional experience as they followed around the one homosexual character in the show and the difficulty he faced while attempting to live a “normal life” after coming out. I almost feel like this subject has chased me around. Right before Glee I threw on the T.V., and switched to one of my faves… CNN. Only to find Larry King interviewing the one and only Ricky Martin about his struggles with letting the world know he was gay. I have also been forced to think about this subject while at work. It’s everywhere, and I want to talk about it.
So here lies the problem: My religion tells me homosexuality is a sin, but my heart (at times) and culture at large tell me this is acceptable and not a choice.
The reason this really churns up so much emotion for me is because seeing homosexuals getting emotionally, spiritually and even physically abused by people of faith absolutely breaks my heart. I almost feel like there are 10 million bigger battles to fight than someones sexual preference. It’s one of those times where I wish Christians were more known for what they are FOR, instead of what they’re against.
But how to approach it: After an incredible amount of thought on how to approach the homosexual community as a Christian I have realized a couple of things.
1) The first thing you must always do is love them. The simple idea that “Christians” have made the anti-gay movement one of the key battles they are known for makes me sick. If we want to make any difference, and pick up any ground… it’s with love. No excuses, no way around it.
2) Closely examine what the Bible says. The Bible tells us a couple of things about the subject. It tells us that it is no different from all the other crappy sin in our life. That’s right, if you are into gossiping, you deserve the same thing a homosexual does. Luckily Christ died for all of us… this includes homosexuals by the way (gotta love grace). But here is where it get’s tricky. Scripture also tells us at the same time that homosexuality is a problem in God’s eyes. (Romans 1:26-27 among many others) In addition to that it also tells us not to just succumb to our desires. (2 Tim 2:22)
Where that leaves us: Now I understand that is a hard thing to say, especially to someone who is gay. But the problem is, if you become a Christian, you don’t get to choose what things you want to follow in the Bible, and which you don’t. ((after proper exegesis, hermeneutics and study of that time in culture)) There are plenty of things that I really wish I could do or act upon. I can’t tell you how hard it was to wait until I was married for sex. I would have loved to have sex, but instead I fought through it. Even if I believed deep down that homosexuality is not wrong, and this is ridiculous… it’s not my choice. We’re never promised that this life, or any of our unfortunate circumstances would be fair or easy. We need to keep in mind that in the grand scheme of things, this is the blink of an eye. This should never be the reason someone does not decide to follow Christ for two reasons. 1) I rather you be a homosexual Christian than an atheist straight person. 2) This might make homosexuals feel constrained in slight ways, but also opens up the incredible freedom that is in Christ.
I’ll admit, this is tough, and almost sounds harsh. But I’m still working on how to approach this whole thing. There are a whole bunch of other questions I have that perhaps you can talk about, but I’m still working though them. Please post on here. And please be respectful, I promise to do the same.
NOTE: If you are in high school and gay or struggling with this subject, you are 110% welcome at Riot (our high school ministry) every single Sunday night, and I am always open to talk about it.
Additional Questions For Thought:
- Could the greek word for homosexual in the Bible, arsenokoite, have been translated wrong? This isn’t a God error, it’s a man error.
- What creates homosexuality? I have heard of lots of cases of abuse and broken homes being the source of homosexuality, but I have also heard of completely great families and relationships having the same result. After doing some research there is no solid evidence of a gay gene.
