Maybe I’ve had too much coffee this morning, or maybe I’m
just ready to speak about this. I sat by during the whole Chick Fil A thing. I
read the posts. I had my inner thoughts
and dialogue silently. And now I read
the Duck Dynasty stuff. Is anyone else
sick of this? Obviously I am not the
only one voicing my opinion through social media, and adding my thoughts may
just continue the monotony of finger-pointing and fist shaking. But I’d like to offer something a little
different here – hopefully.
To cope with all my anxiety about this topic, I found myself
in my kitchen peeling the labels off empty jars, so I could re-use them for
another purpose. Do you ever do
that? Get all worked up and then go
clean your house, shop online, or scan facebook? Yeah, so I got this little blade out and went
to town on some jars. It felt good. And
then it hit me…
What if we peel the labels off? Peel them off Christians. Peel them off homosexuals. Peel them off anyone who is “different” from
us? The reality is this world is made up of different types of people, and we
are NEVER going to all agree. It’s just
the way it is. Regardless, labeling any person and refusing to know them as
they really are is just sad.
What if we peel the labels off and re-purpose our differences for the
greater good? Oh, here I go, with my talk of love, equality, holding hands and
singing "Kum Ba Yah" (is that how you spell it?). But I just can’t help
myself. And the coffee has me all jittery
now, so I gotta get this out somewhere.
Do you know someone who is gay? Have you asked him or her about themselves?
Do you know what kind of life they have had? Do you know they have possibly
thought of hurting or killing themselves because of the shame and rejection
they often face? Do you know what it is like to love another person of the same
gender – to not feel like there is any “choice” in that, but still have others
wave their Bible at you in disgrace? Can
you imagine the hurt? If you do not know
someone who is gay, then it is so much easier to stand on the position of
“those people” and “their decisions” as if they are all the same and have no
moral compass. Some of the dearest
people I know are gay. They have partners, children, and lives of honesty and
respect. They even love Jesus too. Yes, it’s true. I invite you to consider peeling the label
off them and get to know them individually.
Do you know someone who is a Christian? Have you asked him or her about
themselves? Do you know what kind of
life they have had? Do you know some of them think of hurting or killing
themselves because of the shame and rejection they often face? Do you know what it is like to love and seek
to follow God – to not feel like there is any “choice” in that, but still have
others wave their “intolerance” flags in your face and say you are excluding
them? Can you imagine the hurt? If you do not know a Christian, then it is much
easier to stand on the position of “those people” as if they are all the same
and have no compassion for others. I am a
Christian. I love you. Jesus loves you. I invite you to peel the label off Christians
and get to know them individually.
Interesting, huh, how I just basically wrote the same
paragraph twice? And I could put a blank line and write “insert here” for you
to add any other type of “different” person.
We’re really not all that different when you break it down. We all hurt.
We all feel shame. We all get angry.
WE ALL FEEL. And often when we
feel those things, it seems easier to point fingers and get all up in arms on
one side or another to defend our causes or beliefs. Please, consider putting your weapons
down. What if you tried to get to know just
one person different from you – to see them with compassion and love? Grace is
for all of us.
