I’m sitting here at the local science museum, writing while my daughter plays. As I watch her, I’m thinking about the world in which she is growing up. My heart aches, because what I want for her isn’t what she will experience.
I wish she could live in a world where people love each other instead of hating each other. I especially want her to believe that Christians are known for our love. Except that today, I was reminded that it isn’t always true.
This morning, I got back on the Internet after a several-day hiatus. I woke up to not one but three news items about pastors spewing hate for the gay community.
Even one is too many.
You know what? Those hateful bigots don’t speak for me. And regardless of your view on homosexuality, they shouldn’t speak for you, either.
I don’t really care where you stand, if you call yourself a Christian you should be outraged that anyone, in the name of Jesus, would recommend the horrors these so-called pastors do. All people who claim to follow Jesus should publicly reject calls to beat children into being straight, lock LGBT people behind electric fences, and ask the government to butcher them. And you should be ashamed that such people say these things on behalf of our God.
So here’s what I’m asking you to do: Write a letter. Write a blog post. Say it in a sermon (if you’re a pastor). Better yet, call up one of your LGBT loved ones. Without qualifiers, say, “Those hateful people [on the tv/radio/Internet] don’t speak for me. I love you. Let’s get a cup of coffee and catch up on each other’s lives.”
Don’t give the hate a voice.
