Last Friday the Supreme Court ruled state bans on gay marriage to be unconstitutional, thereby legalizing gay marriage nationwide. This was a groundbreaking case, ushering freedom for which many gay couples have been yearning for years or perhaps even decades.
The response to this ruling has been a wide variety of different feelings, from tears of joy, gleeful laughter and uproarious celebration—including application of a rainbow profile picture filter by a massive number of users on Facebook—to grief, disgust, worry and fear; fear of losing the constitutional freedom of religion and freedom of speech that allows for “traditional” views of marriage to be expressed and upheld freely without fear of persecution or prosecution.
One primary issue that many are concerned with is whether opposing homosexuality or gay marriage, more specifically, will constitute a hate-crime at some point in the future.
In his eloquent speech following the Supreme Court’s ruling Friday morning, President Obama reminded the American public that religious freedom is still paramount in the U.S.
“I know that Americans of good will continue to hold a wide range of views on this issue. Opposition, in some cases, has been based on sincere and deeply held beliefs,” he said. “All of us who welcome today’s news should be mindful of that fact and recognize different viewpoints, revere our deep commitment to religious freedom.”
I hope Christians can take some solace in these words, and I hope both gay men and women who now have the freedom of marriage heterosexuals have always had will be kind enough to meet peaceful opposition with understanding. But I also hope Christians across the nation recognize the government is not God, and they should not expect it to behave like God. Jesus loves people into repentance. That isn’t the role of the government, nor should it be.
The latter perspective, most-often attributed to Christians, has been called many things: bigoted, old-fashioned, selfish, ignorant and condemning. Sadly, especially as a devout Christian myself, in too many instances this has not been without good reason. Certain radical churches and picketers at numerous gay-pride rallies have popularized blatantly hateful sayings like “God hates fags.” This statement makes me cringe. While God hates sin, He certainly does not hate the sinners for which Jesus died, “For He so loved the world.” God is even defined as love in the book of 1 John, too. How ironic.
To all gay men and women, please allow me to apologize on behalf of some of the Church. For too long a portion of the Church has been guilty of specifically targeting homosexuals as a people group and condemning them in ways it does not do to others. For example, prison missionaries do not go into penitentiaries and say, “You murderers! You’re all going to hell!” No, they preach the message of “Jesus loves you, and he died for you. Repent and make him Lord of your life.” Why hasn’t the Church done this regarding gay men and women? I believe it is because many individuals have found homosexuality to be personally offensive and thus made that message reflective of the larger whole. It has never been right to do this, especially in light of Jesus’s words in the Gospel of John, “Let the person among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Separately, what happened to Jesus’s words in the Gospel of Matthew?
“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged,” he said.
If the skewed standard held against gay people were to be applied to those holding the standard, hypocrisy would likely follow. If one is to hold one person to this wrongful standard, one must apply that standard to oneself and to all sins: lust, pornography, divorce, greed, pride, gluttony and turning from the sick, the poor, the homeless and all those in need. The list goes on and on. The point is, targeting one people group over one sin is wrong. It’s antithetical to the message of the Gospel whose chief character is called a “friend of sinners.”
Apart from the any wrongdoing, I want to illustrate understanding of both sides of the issue. As American citizens, why should specific people groups be denied the rights of other American citizens? I don’t think they should. But I believe there are far more important issues—eternal issues—at play than the rights of American citizens and simple tax write-offs or the ability to have a government recognized union with another individual. But please, don’t misunderstand me. I am not reducing the desire to be married to simple money-mindedness.
I have several gay friends and a couple of friends who were formerly gay, of whom there are Christians in both groups. I love all of them. Do I think homosexuality is wrong? Yes, but I also feel that way about divorce, pornography and greed. The friend of sinners who I call savior was not prejudiced in who He loved, and neither should I be, nor anyone else who professes to be a Christian. Jesus said to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. If I must have love for myself, a redeemed sinner, I must have love for my neighbor who may or may not have received redemption yet, too. Christians have received mercy and grace from God. It’s our job to carry that message to the world that does not know and not, in arrogance, forget who we once were.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. And by this the world will know that you are my disciples. By the love that you have for one another,” Jesus said in the Gospel of John.
I think this should be taken seriously. Christians should love people as Jesus commanded them to do. This does not mean, however, Christians should be forced into the acceptance of homosexuality, or any other behavior believed to be sinful. That is no different than the aforementioned intolerance homosexuals have faced. What has been misunderstood, though, is the lack of approval of such things should be an extreme act of love itself, despite it has too often been an act of hatred in the past.
That right to disagree is as fundamental to Christians now as it was for all gay people who have been fighting for equal rights for years. So before Christians are called intolerant, remember their intention should be to love and that is why they are opposed. To suppress that opinion is to be just as intolerant as others have been of homosexuality in the past.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of all of the factors at play in this nationwide issue of gay marriage, religious freedom and homosexuality itself. And I know very well it’s not sexy to talk about “sin,” especially on a college campus. That word is often inherently offensive because it makes people feel judged. My intent is to not preach condemnation, rather, redemption from sin. I want my words to illustrate a type of love that should exist, even when it hasn’t, and should be understood as such. Not as an act of intolerance and hatred.
I am not opposed to gay marriage because I dislike gay people. On the contrary. I disapprove of all sin because I believe that apart from the redemption of Jesus, sin eventually leads to eternal separation from God. So how could I advocate something I think is harmful to those whom I love? I can’t and I won’t, but that certainly doesn’t stem from hate. Love is the goal.
