What are you fighting for? And why?

I’m tired of keeping my mouth shut. I really am. Not sure if it’s a lack of self-control (highly probable) or something else, but something must be said.

I could talk all day about the Baltimore idiocy, but maybe another day. No, I’m hitting harder and slightly less obvious than that: Gay Marriage.

There is obviously a split on the issue, and that only makes sense. You have the lefty liberals who think all love is the same, unless it’s the love for an unborn child. You have the righteous righties who don’t really know what they want or believe. Personally, I think most just want whatever they think the public wants and will be conservative elsewhere. At least the liberals are consistent. There are so many factions within the conservative side, you’d have better luck counting the stars on a clear summer’s night. 

It’s not the split that bothers me on the issue. That’s natural. The problem to me is WHERE the unnatural split is… and why.

Many of you aren’t going to like this, and that’s ok. I think as much as anything, I’ve fallen into a trap of watering down my opinions so I seem agreeable. I’m not a fan of pandering. I can’t sit here and gripe that the world is full of wimps who are afraid to speak their mind when I’m not going to… so…

If you’re a Christian and are fighting for gay rights, I think you have a problem.

Kinda abrasive, I know. But, stick with me and see this through.

I’m not perfect. Chances are, if anyone is reading this, you are probably in need of less forgiveness than I. No, this is about understanding the standard of comparison, we as Christians, should adhere to. Not just SHOULD… but MUST adhere to.

Just as you don’t measure your weight with a clock or your strength with how fast you type, you don’t measure Godliness by shifting, progressive societal standards. You don’t measure against what you think should be how things work. You don’t even measure against your own personal experiences. You measure them against God. And He has a very clear standard. It’s called the Bible. (The origins of which may just be a topic of another blog at some point…)

If you are born-again, you have acknowledged you don’t match God’s standard and need His forgiveness for that. There’s obviously more to it, but that concept drives what you believe, who you are and why you believe what you do.

So, if we can agree we aren’t perfect, then that begs the question… Are there LEVELS of imperfection? Simply? No.

If that’s true, then it must mean the sins I commit really, in the grand design of forgiveness and grace, are no different from the sins you commit. Agreed? Good.

So this brings us to the question: What’s the hang up with homosexuality/gay marriage?

The hang up is I’m not trying to justify a lifestyle (didn’t say choice, although that’s another potential topic) that’s against God’s standard. I’m not saying the sins I commit are ok. I’m not trying to rationalize it when I sneak a peek (or more) of late night Cinemax. I know what I’m doing is wrong and I do it anyway. If I lie to my boss that I’m sick today… no amount of societal pressure makes that right.

If you’re using God’s standard, then have to admit homosexual acts are sinful. Notice what I said and didn’t say. I didn’t say homosexual desires are sinful. I don’t know all about the born this way/born that way arguments. I can have that discussion, but that’s honestly fairly irrelevant to my point. I DO know to engage in any activity requires a personal choice to do so.

I know premarital sex is wrong. If I chose to do that, societal norms don’t make that ok. But if you aren’t married and are engaged in sex, you’re sinning. Still with me, even if you don’t like it?

The next point to establish is God created man and woman. A primary intent of marriage, from a Biblical perspective, is for a man and woman to propagate the Earth. It just happens to be that propagation is kinda fun. But that doesn’t mean it’s ok for anyone/everyone. He made it clear sex outside of that arrangement is wrong.

So with those two points made: sex outside marriage is wrong and marriage was created for a man and woman… where does any Christian get the idea that it’s ok in any other situation?

That answer is simple: Society.

Society wants to tell us if it feels good, do it. We don’t like something? Let’s make it ok. There is a higher standard than that, and as a born-again Christian, you’ve said you realize that and chose it. Either you’re going to pick and choose the parts you like or you’re going to believe the whole thing. And if you’re picking and choosing, on what basis are you deciding? Certainly not God’s.

Onto love…

Yes, God loves us all. Equally.

I won’t go so far as to say God WANTS us happy b/c happy is a unique concept. We are created for His purpose. Our lives are not our own. Happiness is something WE want. God loves us but I believe happiness is a construct WE created (and change the criteria at a whim), not God. But that’s not necessarily a Biblical statement as much as an interpretation. Maybe I’m wrong.

But don’t for a second believe that love is love. All love is NOT equal. If love is love, then what stops an adult from marrying a child? An animal? A car? Human laws? Or the inherent understanding that that is just not quite right?

That’s the point. It’s obviously outlandish, but you can’t arbitrarily allocate love and then say it’s all equal. By doing so, you diminish it. And God, in the Bible says, He is love. So, you are therefore diminishing Him.

Next…

Let’s establish a pretty easy concept.

Holiness = Good

Sin = Bad

We ok there?

Good.

You want equality? Understand that all sin is equally bad. It can never be good. It’s not to be justified either. You can’t sweep sin into a new, shiny box and repackage it as good. So why would a Christian fight for the right to do that? Why would a Christian say sin is not a sin? That’s exactly what some are doing…

And sadly, many of the Christians I’ve seen fighting for ‘equal rights’ have never… not once that I can tell… fought for anything to further a Christian worldview. You’re willing to fight for gay rights, but not to further Christian causes? That doesn’t make them bad people… that makes them misguided. They may think they’re doing something good here, but that’s my point (and the problem)… they aren’t.

Now, I know the next argument…

Who are you to judge? God called us to love others, not judge them.

You, my friend (if you are still my friend) are 100% right. And there are many ways to love… one of which is to hold each other accountable. Not to point out how ‘bad you are’… but to help each other know and realize when a brother or sister is falling off the wagon. It can happen so gradually we never even know it happens. We are so afraid of offending others to protect the idea of ‘judgment’ that we are no longer doing our duty. (I said duty… giggle.)

You can love people and disagree with them. If you are still reading this, you’re either nodding your head in agreement or fuming you ever knew me. Again, I’m not going to placate you. It’s time to call things what they are… not based on opinion, but based on Biblical standard.

Again, God calls us to hold each other accountable. I’m not bashing gay people. I don’t hate them. I just don’t agree with their wish validate their lifestyle as something it’s not. Heck, I’ll venture to say, most of the gay people I know are VERY nice, generally moral, good people. (Sadly, moreso than some Christians I know.) It’s not about that. It’s about the standard we must hold ourselves against.

Now… any Christian who brings forth this message hatefully is doing major damage to their namesake. I sincerely, despite being a message you may not like, can acknowledge there is no hatred here. You can’t hate your way into people’s decision making process. You can disagree… even fight against different things, without doing it hatefully. But that doesn’t mean there’s room for compromise. It just means you understand how to love others when you disagree.

Gay people… I am not judging you. Fewer people are than you realize. If you want us to understand you better, then you need to understand us better too. You know, that whole ‘equality’ thing goes both ways… Understand that when something is pointed out as sinful, it’s not sinful to me or someone else… it’s sinful to God. Based on HIS standard. If you want to get mad and immediately retract to the idea that we’re judging you, you don’t understand what judgment really means.

If you want to know what time it is, you look at a clock. Why? Based on the standard of time man has developed, it is 3:43pm right now. It’s not 3:27pm. It’s not 1:42pm. It’s 3:43pm. Why? Because that’s what is says for central STANDARD time. But unlike time, God doesn’t change. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. That’s not opinion. That is Hebrews 13:8. Society doesn’t affect God’s standard. (Now don’t go throwing Old Testament verses at me thinking you make a snappy point. By doing so, you immediately discredit yourself by showing you don’t understand Old/New Testament context.)

Now…

There’s a 3^rd tendril to my logic… (I should be a preacher…)

We’ve established, Biblically:

·         Sex outside marriage is sin

·         Marriage is meant for a man and woman

·         Sex outside a married man and woman is sin

That’s logic, yo.

ALLLLLLLL this said…

Marriage is a dichotomy of terms. To a Christian, it is a spiritual covenant between God and man. To man, it is a legal contract between two people allowing certain rights.

From THAT perspective, I don’t care if they have that. That bothers me none. If Bill and Joe are a couple and spend their entire lives together, Bill should have a say in Joe’s funeral arrangements. That’s called human decency.

I understand that’s what people say they’re fighting for. But it’s not. What they’re fighting for is the validation that a lifestyle of sin is ok because they love each other. It’s just manifests itself by those contractual privileges. So, to me… the issue to attack isn’t affirming gay marriage. It’s simply cutting the legal red tape that defines a contractual relationship.

Sin is not ok. It’s never been ok. It never will be ok. According to God’s judging, not mine. I will continue to sin and it will continue to not be ok. I can’t make it ok because it makes me feel better thinking it is.

Now, if you don’t want to believe the Bible on all this, that is certainly your choice. But, if you call yourself a Christian and you’re fighting to validate that lifestyle, as the meme goes… you’re doing it wrong.

There are ways to love others without validating their sin.