Is God a Bigot?

I just read a Dear Amy letter about a gay man whose sister, marrying into a very Christian family, wrote him and asked that he not attend the wedding because of his lifestyle choice not being in line with their beliefs.

I can’t stand that attitude. What  a terrible way to demonstrate God’s effect on us.  And what hypocrisy! They don’t understand what God sees in us, and they certainly don’t understand what being a “Good Christian” means.

OK. I’m a little opinionated on this. I gotta tell ‘ya, I hate it when people use God as an excuse to act out their own hatefulness and to justify their sins.

What’s God say about homosexuality? He calls it an abomination. He commands that women should not dress as men and men should not lie with another man, as with a woman. He clearly does not want people to be homosexual.  Does that mean I should ignore and snub every gay person? After all, God also says don’t steal. In fact, not stealing is one of the Big Ten, and homosexuality gets nothing more than a dishonourable mention on page 5.  But do you tell a brother, a sister, or a friend who steals pens from the office or doesn’t tithe or who eats ham (I had to throw that one in- after all, it is a Jewish Blog) that you cannot condone their presence at your wedding? Oh, like you never took anything? What? You NEVER sin?

Wasn’t one of the most commonly used complaints about Yeshua the fact that He hung around with tax collectors, prostitutes and other sinners?  If Yeshua wanted to show them what God’s Spirit can achieve, and how God sees the heart, what makes these people think they are better than Yeshua?

I don’t condone homosexuality, it is a sin. But I was taught we should hate the sin, and love the sinner. I have homosexual family members, and I love them. Do I agree with their lifestyle choice? No, and they know that, but they also know I love them. If I was to keep every sinner away from me, well…I would be all alone. In fact, I wouldn’t even be able to talk to myself.

I wish these people with their “Holier than thou” attitudes would stop trampling the blood of the Messiah in the dirt, and start to act like humans. They think they’re God, themselves, judging others. Oh, wait- didn’t God say judge not, lest ye be judged? Doesn’t the Bible tell us that we are all sinners? Didn’t Yeshua tell us we are a light unto the world, we are salt? If salt loses it’s flavor it is thrown away. What is the flavor?- love and compassion. Not acceptance, not tolerance, but love. We don’t have to agree with what some people do, but we should not be hateful and judgemental. We will all face God one day, and only He is a fair judge. I believe that what you do is wrong and sinful, but I am wrong and sinful, too. That’s why Yeshua had to die. He died for the gay person just as much as he died for the straight person.  And if Yeshua died for them, but we ignore them and treat them like they had tza’ar at (leprosy) then aren’t we undoing what Yeshua died to do?

Too many times I have heard people use God as their excuse for doing something, or not doing something. It’s not His fault. Get a grip, man-up, and take responsibility for your own actions.

I say that when I do something wonderful and helpful to others, it is God working through me. When I act like a jerk and do something really mean and stupid, well, that’s when I can take full credit.

If someone is going to be hateful, judgemental or just ignore someone else because of a sin in that person’s life,  they better not say it’s because God tells them to be so. That is a lie from the pit of Sheol (hell). God tells us to love our neighbor, to be a light unto them, to show them the truth about Him, His Messiah, and His grace so they can turn from their sin and be saved.

You can’t help someone save their soul when you won’t have anything to do with them.