I want to start off this post stating that I have some friends that are homosexual. I have nothing against them as a person. I respect each of them and their lifestyle choice does not effect the way I see them. I'm not uncomfortable around them and see them as God's creation just like I am.
That being said, I can't condone their sin. I can't accept it as being OK. What I can do, is love them through it and continue to show them Christ.
I've seen many people talk about both sides of the fence. Some say we should be tolerant, while others are angered at the mention of it. I on the other hand am saddened by what it has become.
The Bible clearly states that homosexuality is wrong. It also says that there are several other things (murder, lying, stealing, etc.) are wrong as well. I wonder what would happen though if rather than criticize those who are different than us if we promoted what was right. If we celebrated marriage between man and woman and held it up with a high regard.
The sacredness of marriage was lost long before it was stated that same sex marriage should be OK. When we started living a life where divorce is accepted so easily, we allowed Satan in to destroy what God had designed for us.
I wonder what would happen if we got back to our values and lived a life in the way Christ taught. A life where we loved people for who they are, showed them truth (in love, not out of condemnation), and helped them see what God has planned for their life.
I believe being homosexual is a lifestyle choice. However, so is abandoning your children with only their mother to take care of them. I don't believe it solely the fault of the person involved, because it comes from a society where pretty much anything goes as long as its "right for you." Too many years of accepting what is wrong only adds to the situation. I do believe that they are responsible for their actions, but so am I.
We are being taught that tolerance is the way of life, when in fact, it is quite the opposite of what Christ taught. Christ taught to love your neighbor as yourself and to steer clear of sin. When He met someone who needed healing of some kind or who was being condemned, He didn't condemn them, but rather He loved them and told them to "go and sin no more."
I'm having a hard time coming to a resolution on how to deal with the situation. I believe the "love the person, hate the sin," approach, but I think it is so much more than that too. Too often our love and hate are so intermingled that we don't even really know how to interact with the person.
Personally, I think we should get back to accepting what is right and living more for that, than destroying others for what they are doing wrong. God really only gave us 10 rules to follow, all of which can be boiled down into two. If we use those as our boundary lines to live our life and focus more on what good we can accomplish, life would be so much different.
So here's my point. Homosexuality and same sex marriage is wrong, but it's not the real issue at hand. The real issue is that we have allowed our country to be so accepting of sin that it has progressed to this. We haven't been on the side of love, mercy, and showing others who Christ is. Instead we have been condemning, pointing fingers at them, and making them hate us.
Taking a concept from "Blue Like Jazz," what if we lived a life where we apologized to those we would like to see come to know Christ for the things that we have done that have not been a reflection of Christ. That would be a humbling experience.
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