Arizona's Legislature passed a bill that
would allow business owners to assert their religious beliefs in denying
service to gay and lesbian customers. The Center
for Arizona Policy, a conservative Christian group supported the law. Just last night, AZ Governor Jan Brewer vetoed the bill. Meanwhile, in Uganda, President Museveni signed an
anti-homosexuality bill that will demand life sentences for certain homosexual acts. Behind Uganda's anti-gay movement is an implied influence of Christian missionaries.
Whether or not Christians influenced these laws is almost irrelevant since the idea is already firmly planted in the minds of
non-believers. Where did
the church go wrong that we, purveyors of God's love to the world, are characterized as vendors of hate? Let's face it. Gay rights are here to stay. Gay
marriage will be the law of the land in short time. Thus, the church's challenge is to acknowledge the cultural change without endorsing it. And to love
gays without surrendering moral values.
Greg,
ReplyDeleteWithout endorsing the GLBTQ lifestyle choices, Christians in business can still serve "the least of these" --who are gay, etc.--as unto the Lord. In showing the love of Christ to a sinning world we are not called upon to minimize or excuse sin in general, into which the choice to be gay is categorized by Scripture. But neither are we called upon to single out particular expressions of sin with an energy level beyond all others. Each expression, in fact, has its liabilities unique to it.
Instead of limiting ourselves to being aggressive/ assertive about the unique and general sins associated with the gay lifestyle, wouldn't the "redemption" of our time be better served by becoming agressively righteous in our expressions? For example, what if we were to focus on being just as consistent when no one is around to watch us as we are when we have an audience? What if we chose to serve causes where we received little if any recognition for our efforts...and didn't care either way?
Jesus said it best when He said for us to let our "light" SO shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. The "so-shining" is when we don't know who is watching...and we don't need to know. We just do the works our Father is directing us to do. And that just may include serving people whose definition of righteousness doesn't meet God's or our own.
Perhaps if more of us were diligent to serve people as we want to be served, regardless of our differences, we might find ourselves in conversations where people--gays and otherwise--would be more inclined to "ask us a reason for the hope that lies within (us)" instead of fearing our condemnation.
Nice picture, by the way, in today's blog.
Stan
so well said, Stan. thank you for expressing so well that our emphasis must be positive, attractive, loving, and welcoming rather than negative, inclusive, and rejecting. With regard to the picture of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery, we are to be "living stones" not to be "throwing stones."
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