Today a monumental decision was made that shook our nation. Marriage was classified by the Supreme Court as a right that is given to all people of the United States under our constitution.
What pains me is that, on what should be a joy filled day, throughout our nation, Christians have started spewing hate toward the decision, those who were directly affected, and our president. They condemned the apparent "sins" of these homosexuals and said that our president has ruined our country. This saddens me greatly, as we are taught as young children in the christian faith that our main job is to love our neighbour as ourself. Apparently, this love has been forgotten by many members of our community who feel the need to pour our their hate to others around them and on social media.
The United States is only the most recent of about 21 countries to legalize marriage equality regardless of gender. These countries include Argentina, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Canada. All of which we classify as members of our "western world" or at least heading in that direction. This means that the recent decisions are actually following a much larger trend that is taking place in the Western Hemisphere and across Europe. It is not the result of a corrupted president or Supreme Court. They were merely in power when this historic decision was made; they are not to be blamed for it.
Secondly, these people whom society has labeled "homosexual" are just that.....people. They are not evil doers who worship some satanic diety. They are normal human beings like you and me who have been bullied and subjugated because they just happen to like those who are of their same gender. I realize that loving someone of the same gender is labeled as a sin in the Bible, but so is lying to one another and putting other things above God, which we all do every single day. It is not our place to judge them, nor can we truly judge them when our plate of sin is just as full as theirs. Our greatest duty is the commandment that Jesus gave to us himself, "to love thy neighbour as ourselves."
If you had a child who came up to you with tears streaming down their face because they have been so ashamed to tell anyone that they like someone of the same gender as themselves because they have seen others who have stated that they are "gay" or "lesbian" get ridiculed and basically shut out of society, would you condemn them?
Would you spew hatred in their face and tell then that "THAT'S NOT GOD'S WILL" or "YOU SINNER?!!" Would you make that child lose all faith that they could ever be loved by anyone, especially some "eternal father?"
I would like to turn your attention to the nerd community. That's right, I said nerd. They have welcomed people who are labled as "homosexuals" with open arms because they see them first as people, then as "homosexuals." Their numbers have grown very quickly over the pas bee years because all outcasts feel welcome to be themselves. I have never been more welcomed anywhere in my entire life than in the nerd community, and I have become more active there than in my church as of late because I am inspired by how much love they show one another.
What if the church did that?
What if we followed that old saying of attracting more bees with honey like the nerds?
What if we loved like the one who first loved us?
What if we celebrated right alongside the LGBT community and shared in their joy as a fellow child of God?
What if we sent messages of love instead of hate?
How many people do you think would be there on Sunday morning?
How many more siblings in Christ would be saved and know God's love?
We are not the army of hate. We are the army of love.
Lets go show them what we are made of.
