A good friend
recently asked me, “Why do homosexuals hate Christians so much?”, and further,
“Why do they play victim every time I try to express my own opinion?”
In
response I inquired, “Well, do you feel any hostility towards homosexuals?”
“No,
not really”, he said. “However, I do grow in hostility towards them, because of
the way that I am treated as ignorant and judgmental. He then proceeded, “If I
am treated like shit for my beliefs as a Christian by homosexuals, why should I
even care to try and understand homosexuality?”
“Hmm,
I suppose I could understand your sentiments.” I responded. “However, let’s
think of this in the reverse. What is
the history with homosexuality and the Church?” In saying this I mean, what is
the historical Christian discourse with homosexuality?”
“Well,
I know biblically it’s wrong” he quickly retorted. “Nevertheless, the Church
really hasn’t been the greatest friend to homosexuals. It seems that Christians
have been quick to marginalize them.”
I
nodded in agreement. “Yes, I agree that we haven’t been the greatest neighbors
to homosexuals have we?”
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the
Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew
22:36-40
It
was this conversation that moved me to reflect more deeply upon the struggle
between homosexuality and the Church today.
The Church’s hatred and judgmental actions of the past and present have
become a terrible stigma to the name of Jesus Christ. How saddening is it that we, as believers of
Jesus Christ, have turned His name into a person who hates and despises. Jesus
was once asked, “Which is the greatest
commandment?” And his response, in paraphrase, “Love God, and secondly, love your neighbor as yourself”. As Christians, what are we going to say to
the all-mighty God on judgment day when He asks if we kept His commandments?
“Well God, I loved you with everything I had
and I loved the neighbors that I got along with.”
I have a feeling
God’s response will be a little something like this: “Seriously? The ones you got along with? Do
you really think that you loved me by loving those that you got along
with? My Son told you, ‘Whatever you
did not do for one of the least of these[1],
you did not do for me.’[2]
Ouch! What would we say to that? Perhaps, “Oh, I’m sorry God. I missed
that part. I must have skipped right over it.”
God might say something like, “No, clearly you never knew Me, because if
you truly knew me, you would have loved the least of these. Step back, I never
knew you.”
*
How can God be so
cruel? No, I think the right question
would be, how could we have allowed our hearts to grow so far from Him?
The Christian
doctrine of transformation directly understands that the Holy Spirit comes to
dwell in the hearts of those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. If this is truth, would not our actions
reveal the love and grace of our loving savior, Jesus Christ?[3]
Even further, is it reasonable to say that the Holy Spirit has indwelled in our
hearts, if our actions do not reflect God’s peace and love? Or is it possible that we have denied the
Holy Spirit entirely, because what Jesus calls us to do is simply too uncomfortable?[4]
Why is it that
Christians often believe they can pick and choose which passages of scripture
they will abide by, while jettisoning other passages that may be uncomfortable
for them? Is this truly the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ? No, in the
words of the President of World Vision, Richard Stearns, “There is a hole in
our gospel”.[5] Jesus did not say, “Take or leave the things
I say, as long as you believe in me”. He
said more clearly, “Die to yourself and pick up your cross daily to follow me.”[6] I love Paul’s reflections in his letter to
the Church at Galatia; you can truly see that he has internalized what Jesus
had taught, “I
have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved
me and gave himself for me.”[7] What?!
“No longer do I live, but Jesus lives in me.” Have we, as Christians, truly internalized
this? If we have, it better reveal itself
in the way that we love one another and our neighbors. If not, unfortunately, we are no better off
than the demons.
“Love God and Love others”
*
In
reference to the turmoil still brewing to this day in the Holy Land., Jostein
Gaarder remarks, “Down here, Cain and Abel have not finished killing one
another.”[8] Whether or not this statement resonates well
with you, some may find it provocative and disturbing in ways; however, it
carries a significant underlying message that is remarkably profound.
Now,
stepping away from biblical theology for the time being, without disregard, let’s
unpack the psychological development taking place between people who are
homosexual and people in the Church. In mentioning Gaarder’s remark in
reference to the turmoil in the Holy Land, I intend to draw a parallel with the
Church’s relationship with homosexuals.
Let me explain.
In the aftermath
of the World War II, the Jews felt the need to retreat back to the land of
their ancestors. I could not begin to
fathom the amount of pain and struggle that they had undergone. The
psychological trauma the Jews had experienced in the course of the war
inevitably affected their course of action, as they proceeded onward to the
land of their fathers. When they arrived, we find that historically the Jews
used militant force to seize many villages that surrounded Israel, while aggressively
marginalizing the Palestinians that inhabited the land at the time. The question naturally would be asked, why
would the Jews act with militant force in such a way, when they had just
experienced a similar act of violence?
Well, they were in the post-traumatic state of feeling threatened. In
the course of feeling threatened, the Jews felt the need to act out in violence
to find their safe haven, and the Palestinians became the victims without further
reason.[9]
A brief summary, however, I hope
eye-opening.
Now, jumping back
to my conversation with a friend about homosexual’s hostility towards
Christians, we can look at it in a different light. The animosity he
experienced from homosexuals was merely a reaction based off the historical,
and sadly modern, notion that homosexuals are merely sinners and
hell-bound. Well, frankly, I’d be pretty
stand-offish too. I can’t blame
them. Who wants to be judged by their
neighbor? That does not seem loving, and even further, it is the complete opposite
of the grace Jesus preached.
It seems that now
we have a choice, as Christians. The
ball is back in our court. If we, as
Christians begin to be treated poorly due to these labeled preconceived
notions, do we choose to hate back? If
so, this would be yet another great error for those who desire to love as
Christ loved. Further, this cycle of
hate will only continue to war against God’s Kingdom. We now have the opportunity to love, while
extending grace to those who do not necessarily agree with us. Again, this love does not have conditions. It
is unconditional. We, as Christians,
love and extend grace, because we are called by our loving Savior to do
so. If we cannot live out this in our
lives, we are failing the message that Jesus came to preach. After all, it is
not I who came to judge, it is God who will be the great judge. It is not I that convicts, but the Holy Spirit
that will convict. So, if indeed
homosexual acts are sinful, that is up to those who partake and our Holy God. In the same way, I will have to stand before
a Holy God in account for the great many of sins that I have blindingly committed
day to day. I pray and know that our God’s
grace is not limited by my blindness, because I am, indeed, human. We have all fallen short. It is by the grace
of God we are redeemed. I thank God every day for that grace and hope to share
it with every listening ear.
I challenge you,
to go, and while going love every person God puts in your path. Allow God to speak through that love. Although you will be tempted, do not feel the
need to fill the world with useless words, only speak when necessary, and do so
in love.
[1] In considering
the “least of these”, it seems that Jesus speaks considering all of mankind,
not a select few that pity you, but even those that may be uncomfortable to
love.
