I try to avoid the news, it just makes me angry. So much of it these days is some LGBT issue or another. There are two sides to this issue and it's really messy. Both sides feel persecuted, both sides are angry. It's an all out brawl at this point. When will it end? I'm so tired of reading all the hateful comments coming from both sides. What is this accomplishing? Is war what we want? Or is there another way?
I was thinking on this while I was waiting for my first call last night. I wrote this on a scrap of paper:
If "Christians" hadn't been so gun-ho in the past in singling out one type of sin to pour out all their hatred upon, maybe we wouldn't be under such attack now. When you bully someone long enough, eventually they come back fists flying, and sometimes they've taken up new advanced strategies of combat.
I do not agree with Christians who wave picket signs and chant hatred and point out sin. That is not Christlike. I never saw Jesus holding picket signs in the Bible, I never saw him standing on a street corner yelling that only certain sinners were going to hell. This activity is not in line with the character of Jesus that I see in my Bible. I wish I could apologize on behalf of God for all these people who are basically just acting like jerks. I see no benefit to this type of behavior.
Now the tables have turned, the people that were once singled out for this hatred have come back swinging and are now attacking the "Christians" for their beliefs, beating them over the head with new laws and cultural standards, demanding that they comply or be ruined. I don't think this is right either. But I get it. Some will claim they are being persecuted for their faith, but I think mostly they're being persecuted for being jerks.
We are all a part of some group or another, we identify ourselves with labels. Do you ever fully agree with 100% of other people who carry the same label? I don't. The issue I would like to address here is to encourage us all to get to know people as individuals instead of making assumptions based on a particular label they carry. I know, I know, we don't like labels, but we all still do it. That person is white, black, Christian, white collar, gangster, bum..... We see, we label, we assume. Let's not pretend it doesn't happen. We just don't have to lump them all together and believe that they're all the same. Every homeless person is not a lazy drug addict that doesn't want to work. Every white person is a rich entitled jerk who has the world handed to them on a silver platter. Every Christian is not out there holding hateful picket signs. Need I go on?
I know many Christians who are wonderful loving people who are afraid to even use the term Christian because of the negative reputation that is now attached to it. It's sad. The word is supposed to mean follower of Christ, and if you actually read His story, I don't think anyone could take issue with how He treated people and what He taught. He showed us how to love and have peace in society. We need that so desperately now.
We need to get out there and love people. We need to act as Christ acted. There is no room for us to be attacking anyone for their sin. There is not one sin that is worse than any other in God's eyes. We are all sinners in need of God's love. Only God's love will set us free, heal out hearts, and change our lives for the better. That is the good news. We are not capable of earning His love or salvation, but He doesn't ask us to earn it. He offers it as a free gift. All we must do is accept His love. After that, the change just starts to happen as His love permeates our being and heals our wounds. We are not responsible for changing ourselves, so why do we think we can hold signs demanding others to do so?
Jesus doesn't hate any person, He hates sin. I wrote another blog awhile back, I think it's on my Facebook account though, I should transfer it over here. Briefly, I have a different opinion than most about what sin is. I don't think it is our actions (it can be, but I'm exploring a different side here), I think it is the evil thing that is out to destroy us. The Bible personifies sin in some places. It is our enemy, it is that thing that is feeding us lies and convincing us to do harmful things. That is why Jesus hates it, that is why He died a horrific death to defeat it. If sin is the thing attacking us, why would we feel the need to act hateful to those under attack? If they are deceived, or wounded to the point of believing that is their lot in life, how can we be mad at them? I know that I have been deceived. I know that I was wounded and I acted badly out of that place. I needed God's love to heal me before I ever had a chance at beating sin in my life. I tried for years, no success. People need Love. Period. They need to be brought into an encounter with the One who can give them that love. The rest is up to Him. If He feels the need to change them, that's His prerogative as Creator. It's none of our business.
I am pleading with my fellow Christians - stop attacking, stop defending, stop fighting. Love is the only answer. We need peace and unity, not to be "right." I think of that verse about a clanging gong. You can be right about everything, but if you don't have love, you have nothing. We need relationship and love more than anything. Sin is still sin, but it will never be defeated with hate and judgement and accusation. It's our job to love, not point out that people sin. I think we all know that already, quit beating that drum. Please.
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