Given the heated rhetoric I've been hearing lately, I find it refreshing to read something that doesn't focus on trying to find someone to blame for the world's problems. Thanks to the sharing abilities of Facebook, I was able to read from a blog post that said so many of the things that I've felt needed to be said. And I won't lie, it can be construed as offensive to people of faith purely from the title I'm Christian, unless you're gay, but in order to really get at the message, you need to look past that. The point the author makes is simple: if you're going to be a real Christian, or even just a decent human being, it is unacceptable to hate people just for being different than you are. If we are to have a better world, we need to really learn how to love.
On the same blog, the author posted the contents of an email sent to him as a reaction to the blog post. In it she reveals how she realized that her own son was gay and how she came to terms with the hateful things she used to say about gay people. Sometimes people can go through amazing transformations when they're willing to keep an open mind and open heart. If only people didn't need to be personally affected in this way to question the way they treat others.
I know, I sound like a hippie right now, or a promotional spiel on the Lifetime Movie Network. That's not my intent. I just want to be honest about how these pieces of writing touched me. I have a lot of friends who have struggled with hate because of sexual orientation, religious preferences, and many other reasons. There are 7 billion people on this planet, and none of us are exactly the same, but we all need love. And expending the energy on hating others takes away from our precious time and energy that we could be dedicating to something else.
We all have a personal responsibility for the way we speak of and interact with others. Before you say something cruel to or about someone you barely know, think about the impact your words may really have. Even if you believe the way someone lives is sinful, is that enough reason to treat them as less than a human being? If you were them, how would you want others to treat you?
Anyway, it's something to think about.
Agreed. Too much time is spent on judging and condemning others because of who they are. I know we are all guilty of it, but everyone needs to make an effort to not be so harsh on their fellow human beings. It's honestly why I have nothing against people like the Duggar family. I know a lot of people condemn them for having so many kids, but those kids are very loved. Frankly, they do better with their 19 than what a lot of people do with their 1-3! People need to make more room for love in this world and where love is seen, they need to stop trying to sour it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Happy 3rd Birthday to Jude! Give him love from his Auntie Chels. :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the Duggar family too. I don't share their beliefs, but I respect them as human beings. Anyone who can survive raising that many children, who are clearly well cared for, must be made of steel.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'll tell Jude happy birthday!
I too was touched by the letter of the woman who responded to the son's essay. I'm not religious, and am able to only keep a few friends who are because we argue and the arguments become so heated I can't stand being around them. I've gone my rounds with religion. As an atheist, all of these types of hatreds that arise from any religion are heart-breaking. If people want to believe that Elvis is still alive, that the moon landing didn't happen, that there are leprechauns, unicorns, and sorcerers...and yes...that there is a god...that's fine with me. I lump them all in the same category. Just don't go and mistreat people because your tea leaves or the morning sorcerer that you meet with have declared homosexuality immoral. I could go and find some conjurer on a corner that's selling snake oil who tells me that women are actually from another galaxy and put here to make sure that man never frees himself from the dependence on fossil fuels. But that argument sounds insane. So does religion.
ReplyDeleteI'm not religious either, but most of the religious people that I'm friends with tend to be the more loving, accepting ones, probably because the others make me too angry. I find it encouraging when I see people of faith openly accepting homosexuals and others who are different from them. There's enough pain in the world as it is without actively creating more.
ReplyDelete