Why the Hypocrisy?
On Saturday I got into a very heated discussion with my father over the fact that some people don't believe that homosexual couples shouldn't be allowed to raise/adopt children because of they would be raised in a "tainted" home. Personally, I thinks that is bogus. I am a Christian, I love my Creator with my whole being, and my heart cries out in anguish at the predicament that homosexuals are being put through, and in turn putting my brothers and sisters through. I believe that homosexuality is wrong, but I also believe that being homosexual isn't a choice (as so many Christians would have the world believe) but is a trait that is infused in a person's being as much as being heterosexual is infused in my being. The only thing that makes it sinful (in my own opinion) is the act of homosexual relations between two people.
In my second quarter of college, I met a girl at a Christian club who was not only the founder of the club, but a lesbian as well. Her parents were aware of her sexual orientation, and when she invited me to a college group that following Thursday, I agreed to go. She was speaking that night, and her testimony was one of the most powerful I've ever heard in my entire life. She told a story of trial, confusion, and the ultimate love. Though she's a lesbian, and has been one her whole life, she's never had a relationship with a woman. At sixteen, she had her one and only boyfriend who became her best friend and fiercest advocate. And though she knows that God condemns homosexuality, she believes that He will use her for some greater purpose, and that is what she looks to whenever she is met with adversity in the Christian community. In regards to her orientation, she has chosen to remain celibate her entire life. This is what shocked me the most. As a Christian, I have dealt with adversity from a church simply because my parents were getting divorced (this was seen as a sin by the church), and so I figured that if I was going to hell, I might as well go all the way. I'm not going to lie, I'm not a perfect person and I don't pretend to be. I'm as fallen as they come, and I've turned my back on my Father so many times I can't keep track anymore. And that was because a church condemned my mother's actions (she was the one that filed for divorce). I don't know what I would have done if it had been my actions that were condemned. And here she was, openly admitting to her peers and her church that she was a homosexual, but choosing to honor her Savior by not allowing her flesh to have control over her life.
So when my father suggested that homosexuals were unfit to raise children, my hackles immediately rose. From his argument, it was simply because a child would be "tainted" to be raised in that kind of environment. My thoughts went to this girl I had met, and I was furious that anyone would suggest she would raise a child in a toxic environment. First off, more than three quarters of heterosexual relationships create environments that are toxic to a growing child. Sexual orientation is not an indicator of a healthy or toxic environment. Yes, granted, the thing that scares most Christians about having children raised by a homosexual couple is that the children are going to be raised in a home that encourages and condones a sinful lifestyle. But there are children that are being raised by heterosexual parents that are condoning different types of sinful lifestyles. Premarital sex, for one. And how is that any worse than homosexual sex, let me ask?
We're all sinners living in grace, as Paul said in Romans 3:21-26 ("But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,i through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.") and even as forgiven sinners, I believe that Christians should be understanding, though not condoning, of gays and lesbians around the world. It is for people like this that Jesus was sent. It was for the lost and searching that he came to Earth and took on our form to be a lamb at the slaughter. The homosexuals can't help their orientation, but they can help the path they follow. If we as Christians can show them that, I believe that so much of the animosity between these groups will be left behind. Instead of telling them they're going to hell because they aren't attracted to the opposite sex, why don't we tell them that God loves them, not matter what. After all, He knew everything about them even before they were born (Jeremiah 1:5) and He loves them no matter what they've done or who they are (John 3:16). He sees them as precious stones (1 Peter 2:4) and we as Christians are not the ones to judge our brothers and sisters, but to love them (1 John 4:20).
Love the sinner, hate the sin. The action, though it may define the person's character, is not the person. I know from experience that character can change, and God loves all of us in spite of our sins and orientations and character flaws. Let's learn a lesson from Him and follow His lead, shall we?
In my second quarter of college, I met a girl at a Christian club who was not only the founder of the club, but a lesbian as well. Her parents were aware of her sexual orientation, and when she invited me to a college group that following Thursday, I agreed to go. She was speaking that night, and her testimony was one of the most powerful I've ever heard in my entire life. She told a story of trial, confusion, and the ultimate love. Though she's a lesbian, and has been one her whole life, she's never had a relationship with a woman. At sixteen, she had her one and only boyfriend who became her best friend and fiercest advocate. And though she knows that God condemns homosexuality, she believes that He will use her for some greater purpose, and that is what she looks to whenever she is met with adversity in the Christian community. In regards to her orientation, she has chosen to remain celibate her entire life. This is what shocked me the most. As a Christian, I have dealt with adversity from a church simply because my parents were getting divorced (this was seen as a sin by the church), and so I figured that if I was going to hell, I might as well go all the way. I'm not going to lie, I'm not a perfect person and I don't pretend to be. I'm as fallen as they come, and I've turned my back on my Father so many times I can't keep track anymore. And that was because a church condemned my mother's actions (she was the one that filed for divorce). I don't know what I would have done if it had been my actions that were condemned. And here she was, openly admitting to her peers and her church that she was a homosexual, but choosing to honor her Savior by not allowing her flesh to have control over her life.
So when my father suggested that homosexuals were unfit to raise children, my hackles immediately rose. From his argument, it was simply because a child would be "tainted" to be raised in that kind of environment. My thoughts went to this girl I had met, and I was furious that anyone would suggest she would raise a child in a toxic environment. First off, more than three quarters of heterosexual relationships create environments that are toxic to a growing child. Sexual orientation is not an indicator of a healthy or toxic environment. Yes, granted, the thing that scares most Christians about having children raised by a homosexual couple is that the children are going to be raised in a home that encourages and condones a sinful lifestyle. But there are children that are being raised by heterosexual parents that are condoning different types of sinful lifestyles. Premarital sex, for one. And how is that any worse than homosexual sex, let me ask?
We're all sinners living in grace, as Paul said in Romans 3:21-26 ("But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,i through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.") and even as forgiven sinners, I believe that Christians should be understanding, though not condoning, of gays and lesbians around the world. It is for people like this that Jesus was sent. It was for the lost and searching that he came to Earth and took on our form to be a lamb at the slaughter. The homosexuals can't help their orientation, but they can help the path they follow. If we as Christians can show them that, I believe that so much of the animosity between these groups will be left behind. Instead of telling them they're going to hell because they aren't attracted to the opposite sex, why don't we tell them that God loves them, not matter what. After all, He knew everything about them even before they were born (Jeremiah 1:5) and He loves them no matter what they've done or who they are (John 3:16). He sees them as precious stones (1 Peter 2:4) and we as Christians are not the ones to judge our brothers and sisters, but to love them (1 John 4:20).
Love the sinner, hate the sin. The action, though it may define the person's character, is not the person. I know from experience that character can change, and God loves all of us in spite of our sins and orientations and character flaws. Let's learn a lesson from Him and follow His lead, shall we?
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