Homophobia, Liberals and Hate

The other day a friend on Facebook posted a photo with an actor stating more or less that a better name for homophobes is a__holes.  I think this same quote was also ascribed to a homosexual Star Trek actor.  I cannot speak to the veracity of either claim as to who said it, but to me it is just another form of bullying.  I think it is true for both many conservatives and liberals that when they encounter someone with opposing views on life, they try to disenfranchise or dis-empower them by labeling them.

By labeling people we say "I am not going to deal with you, I am just going to pigeonhole you and degrade you"  So in my book if you say "God hates fags" or label people as "homophobes or a__holes" you are one more of those in the world causing pain.  You disagree with them (Because you think you are right) and then you attack them with labels in attempt to degrade them.  I support neither of the camps mentioned above.  I don't believe "God hates fags" is a godly response to sin.  I do believe that homosexuality is a sin as are many of the current popular attitudes to sex and money.  But as a Christian, my response to these kinds of people is to be loving.  Now loving them doesn't mean I approve of their choices, it just means I value the person because they were created in the image of God.

I hate sin of all kinds.  I especially hate the sin that creeps into my life in the form of pride or justification of my wrong attitudes, motives and actions.  I hate the effect sin has on people but I am bound by Christ to love sinners.  Some sin tastes sweet in the beginning, but it's life long effects is often devastating.  Other kinds of sin are obviously wrong.  Often times sin in our lives is obvious to those around us, but we want to be comfortable with it; we want others to accept it.  Other times we know it is sin, and work very hard to hide it.  But sin won't remain hidden.  Sin finds a way out and then we are discovered in it.  Sometimes the discovery seems like a relief.  But the relief should never be confused with the idea that the sin is okay.

Now some of my brothers and sisters seem to think that morals or morality is the solution; just keep the rules and everything will be alright.  But I see morality as the outcome of our relationship with our Savior-Redeemer.  As we grow close in relationship to our Creator - Savior God, we don't want anything interfering with that divine relationship.  That is why God hates sin; it damages the relationship between Creator and his creation.

I hope you don't get stuck on the issue (one side or the other) of homosexuality.  In our current culture it is a very provocative topic but to me its is just one of the many forms of sin that entangle us.  I try not to make it any greater than greed, lying, hate, fornication, infidelity or sloth.  We are all sinners needing the redeeming power of The Cross of Jesus.  We all need to come to a place that says, you know, I am blowing it and I need to start afresh.

Calling people fags or homophobes isn't going to change them.  It is just going to cause anger or rebellion rise up in them.  Shaming people is rarely effective in getting them to change their minds.   It is the Holy Spirit's job to convict people of sin and righteousness.  Our job as Christians is to demonstrate the reality of the Love of God in how we treat one another and how we treat our neighbors.

There are so  many labels that people use to pigeonhole other people.  Sometimes this used it to attack someone's race using words like nigger, spic, chink, gook, or even honky.  Sometimes we use labels to attack someone faith - bible-thumper, holy roller, frozen chosen  heretics or fanatic.  We use words like liberal or conservative as if they were curses.  We have words that we use to denigrate people of the other sex and different personality 'make ups.  Personally I believe that all these labels do nothing more than demean the divinity of humans.

I firmly believe that we are all created in God's image but we live in a broken world.  As God's children, our job is to bring God's love to bare in every corner.  Not in rhetoric or with mere words, but with actions.  Mother Teresa got it and there are others I know who are getting it.  God is love and as his children we are called to love the unlovable and to even love those we don't like.

The apostle James said that it is not right that we both curse humans (made in the image of God) and praise God from the same mouth.  So, let us put off this need to label and attack others and instead glorify God our Creator and look for ways to see the divine in and love our sinful neighbors.

Blessings,
Alan