By Wil Story
Guest Writer
I remember when a high school friend came out of the closet. His revelation brought back memories of high school: how we called him gay behind his back or to his face and how the whispers were probably a constant hell he had to walk through.
After we graduated and people asked about his story, he told them he felt abandoned by the church. No one spoke to him, and his only support was in the gay community.
I think of myself sometimes. I remember the times I heard gay jokes or gay rumors thrown my way. The people I went to church with, the people who told me to love my neighbor, were the ones who tormented me.
The jokes rarely stopped, and I came to believe that just because I was not a fan of sports or cars, or maybe because my interests leaned toward artistic media, I was to live the life of a second-class male, if there were such a thing.
My heart breaks for my friends. My heart breaks for them because the Church has been the one that has caused them pain. Instead of extending a loving hand to them, the Church is what caused them to run.
I remember being angry with people who could lead Bible studies and then mock me because I enjoy a good Broadway tune.
Hearing the stories of judgment as well as experiencing some of it on my own, I have a heart for the way people in the gay community are treated within the Christian world.
Instead of treating them as humans, homosexuals are sometimes looked upon as pariahs of society. I once heard a friend say he would disown his child if he or she ever was a homosexual. That was a tame response; there are people like Pastor Charles L. Worley of Providence Road Baptist Church in North Carolina.
In one sermon last spring, Worley said we should “put all homosexuals in an electrified fence and watch them die.” Responses like this to homosexuality or to homosexuals are contrary to how Christians should respond.
Our reactions to homosexuality are beginning to take a scary turn from a ministry mindset into that of a hate-filled message for people whom we have deemed irreparable. Responses like these are the reasons we need more conversations about Christians’ response to homosexuality, which is why I was grateful for Christopher Yuan’s talk at Union recently.
Yuan gave points on what Christians should do and not do regarding homosexuality.
We must be convicted of our own sins and realize that we have no place to judge even if we do not struggle with that sin or because we are ignorant.
We must be compassionate with those around us who struggle with homosexuality and draw them to Christ with our behavior. Yuan summarized a response to friends that come out, and it is one that I pray Christians learn to use: “Tell them they are not alone. Tell them that you may not personally understand their struggle, but you will walk with them in this struggle.”
Yuan went on to say what Christians should not say to homosexuals. We cannot compare homosexuality with a lifestyle of a choice, because they see it as an aspect of themselves. Saying we “love the sinner but hate the sin” implies that we hate what they consider to be a part of themselves. Instead, we should be known as Christians who are intentional, persistent and transparent.
It seems today that we as Christians have become good at pointing out issues that might not affect people within the Christian community.
Anytime we talk about homosexuality we tend to forget about our own sins. We make a sin we do not struggle with a bigger deal than our own sins. We avoid homosexuals, yet we sit and watch our friends blatantly sin without hesitation.
We justify the sins we so willingly commit. The fact is that homosexuality deserves the same punishment as drunkenness, gossip, sexually immoral actions or any other sin.
We must not make homosexuality a bigger sin than our own just because we do not understand it. Ignorance is no excuse for a hateful response toward any human.
In defining our concept of homosexuality, we tend to only think about the people dancing on pride floats.
However, there is an entire sect of homosexuals we forget about: the Christians who are faced with homosexual thoughts and feelings.
It is possible to be both a Christian and deal with homosexuality. We make jokes and treat homosexuals like they are lesser, and we do not consider the witness we are showing to our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Instead of showing that we are the Body of Christ, a community where all struggles can be shared without fear of judgment, we alienate those Christians.
However, there is hope for the future. I have noticed Christians, especially college-aged Christians, realizing that alienating a group of people is not what Christ’s ministry calls us to do.
We are called to witness and to love everyone because we are all equal sinners in God’s eyes. Our calling is difficult; speaking with someone who struggles with unfamiliar issues can cause confusion or difficulty in relating with them.
However, we are not to lose heart. Christians can still correct the homophobic stigma that surrounds the Church. We can show them we believe as a Body that God can heal any sinner and forgive any sinner in the same way he cleansed us.
Wil Story is a senior psychology major.
