It seems the issue of same-sex marriage has become the
Christian vs. Non-Christian war, and the new enemy – or ally, depending on
which “side” you are on – is Chik-Fil-A.
Let me start by saying this: I am a Christian. I have grown
up as one; my parents raised me in a home where Christ was the center of it all
and as an adult, I have found my own place in my own Christian faith.
But, while I am an avid follower of Christ, I’m also in
support of gay marriage. (Let me pause while all the conservative Christians
pick their jaw up off the floor.) Why? Many would ask and do ask me that
question. Well, it’s simple. I believe in the most
basic of Christian beliefs: LOVE.
It seems public Christianity has become about segregation
and judgment. There are some that seem to think that as “followers” of Christ, their job
is to condemn other people when their beliefs don’t match. I find this to be
horribly ironic. Aren’t we taught as Christians that only God can judge us?
Aren’t we called to love our neighbor as ourselves? Aren’t we instructed to
follow as closely as we can in God’s footsteps? And, was it not Jesus, when he
was walking on this earth, who hung out with the most hated of people? He was
the one who spent time with tax collectors and ate dinner with prostitutes. He
didn’t come to earth and wag his fingers in their faces and tell them they were
evil and condemn them to an eternity in hell. He didn’t protest at their places
of employment and tell them how wrong they were and how right he was. He loved
them. He showed them love. He stood by them when others wouldn’t.
I cannot understand why anyone on this earth thinks they are
so special that they have the right to do what even Jesus would not. Has we become so arrogant that we think we know better than God?
The latest Chik-Fil-A debacle is only the latest way
Christians are figuratively peeing on their territory, claiming something they
have no claim over. Christians do not own this world; this world was given to
us by God, for all his people to live
on. Whether or not we believe same sex marriage is biblical or right or wrong
or we don’t care, it’s not our job to create a world of hostility and
segregation and oppression. It is our job, given by God, to tell others about
Him; to show love to others, to embody Christ, to live our lives in the manner
of Jesus, and to stand behind our brothers and sisters when the world is
against him or her.
So, that is why I am in support of same sex marriage.
Because I believe they have the same right as I do as a human to be with the
person he or she loves, despite what my Christian faith says and what I follow.
I believe tolerance goes both ways and that they have the right to believe what
they do just as much as I have the right to believe what I do. I believe that I
am no more right in what I believe as someone else does and it is not my place
or job to take away someone else’s legal rights because I think they are wrong.
And I believe our job is to embody love and not hate.
“Let us stop
just saying we love people. Let us really love them and show it by our
actions.” -- 1 John 3:18
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