Same sex marriage…..oooohhh weee what a hot topic right now! It is something that will be debated for years to come.

This is a very heated, hot topic. I actually have struggled with whether or not to post this or even write a post addressing the issue. But for all of you who know me personally….I’m not real good about keeping quiet haha.

Let’s stop for a second. My disclaimer for this post is that I am not bashing same-sex marriage/homosexuality or the Christians who are speaking out against it. I know I will receive flack from both sides of this debate but it is what it is.

Yes I am a Christian.

Yes I love God.

Yes I believe and try to follow all of the things in the Bible (no one is perfect)

Does that mean I have jumped on the bandwagon and bashed the same-sex couples who wish to get married? Absolutely NOT!

My father-in-law (a Pentecostal preacher) has taught me to hate the sin not the sinner (this goes for all types of sinners). I highly dislike the word “hate” used in any sense. But sin is something that it is appropriately used for. When it comes to same-sex couples, just because “John” down the road loves “Sam” doesn’t mean that I hate or even dislike John or Sam.

Edited:

I had a reader tell me that she used to love the saying, “hate the sin not the sinner” until she heard the saying “I hate my sin, you hate your sin, and we’ll love each other.” She said, “hate the sin not the sinner” can come off as saying that we don’t have sin ourselves. This is obviously not true. We all commit sin and need not act like we don’t. I had never heard the saying, “I hate my sin, you hate your sin, and we’ll love each other” but I actually like it. It is a good way to say that we all sin but we should love each other as well.

Matthew 22:37-40 states, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

That does not say, “Love thy neighbor only if they believe the same thing you do.”

As Christians it is NOT our place to judge these couples.

Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis says that she is not issuing same-sex marriage license under the authority of God. I watched a video where one couple asked her if God told her to not to issue them. She did not answer either way. It’s not a good idea to say God told you to do something if he didn’t….shame…shame….shame.

Yes, same-sex marriage and homosexuality are a sin. It is stated right in the Bible. Guess what? The seven deadly sins are something that almost everyone has been guilty of at least once.

Lust

Gluttony

Greed

Laziness

Wrath

Envy

Pride

I’m sorry but sin is sin. My sins are no better or worse than “Suzie’s” down the street. As Christians we sin too. If you say you don’t sin then guess what….you just committed a sin! Sin will always be here because the Devil wants to prevail.

If you are constantly bashing same-sex couples on social media or verbally and one day one of them decides they want to turn their life over to the Lord….you’re going to be the last person they will go to for help. How are we going to get the lost into church if they see all of us as judgmental? This also goes for alcoholics, drug users, and even those who live together before they are married. Heck it even goes for just your average, lost sinner. If they see you bashing one group your credibility is lost in their eyes.

My husband and I lived together before we were married (this was before we were in church). We both were well aware it was a sin. The church his family goes to never once told us we were going to hell or  said anything out-of-the-way to us. We knew his parents were against it and they still loved us. You want to know what that little back road church done? Instead of giving us a hellfire and brimstone sermon they prayed for us. Guess what?? It worked! They genuinely wanted what was best for us and did not force things on us. Had they of done this, I’m not sure I would be in church today. So many come in contact with Christians who tell them how things are “supposed to be.” These conversations tend to scare people off rather than get them closer to the Lord.

As Christians we need to be a shining light for the Lord. We need to act in a way that people want what we got (not in an envious way). Anyone can have salvation. It takes one sentence and you can have a new life.

A holier-than-thou attitude is the worst to have! As Christians we are all children of God.

I’m sure I will have some same-sex couples/homosexuals/gays/transgender/insertyourterm read this post. I want to be the first to apologize for attitudes of some of my fellow Christians. I may not condone of your lifestyle but I still love you and still hope the best for you. As a Christian that is my moral obligation. You will not hear me bash you or call you names. Your choices are yours and my choices are mine.

I will not force my beliefs down your throat or tell you how I’m “better” than you. Because I am the first to say I am no better than anyone.

Same sex marriage is a hot topic but as Christians we have to watch what we say and do. You can’t witness to others if you are viewed as a Bible-thumping, judgmental, bigot. I’m sorry but you just can’t. We need to be a vessel for the Lord. We need to act in a way that others will look at us and see him exuding out of us.

I want to be a Christian that others can come up to me and ask me about what the Lord is doing in my life. I don’t want them to doubt my faith or see me as something I’m not.

Instead of bashing these people (and by people I mean ALL sinners) why not take a moment and pray for them? Why not ask them how their day is going? Why not treat them like a human being? In then end we want them to be right there with us at the pearly gates don’t we? Let’s help get them there instead of pushing them farther away!

I am going to end with this scripture and I hope that this post has someway helped someone.