Disdain for God's People

Yesterday I read a brief letter to the editor of our local paper. The headline of the letter read, "Gay marriage coming, ready or not." The writer of the letter, in her support of gay marriage, used a number of negative and emotionally-charged words to describe us Christians who hold to the biblical definition of marriage, "one man ... one woman ... one flesh ... for life" (Matthew 19:4-7).  Here are some of her descriptions: "Bible-bangers," "religious zealots, and "bigots." She also accuses Christians of being "misinformed" and a "danger to any freedom loving American."

Now as I reflected on her letter ... a few thought came to mind:

1. Jesus warned his followers to expect this sort of "hatred" to be directed toward them (John 15:18-19). So when "name calling" such as this comes our way, we should not be shocked and allow ourselves to be "blown away" by it. If the world treated Jesus like this (and worse!) ... as His followers, we can anticipate the same treatment (and if we are not receiving this kind of negative and even nasty feedback from the world ... perhaps we need to examine our lives to see if we are living Christ-like lives --- see 2 Timothy 3:12). .

2. Doesn't the Constitution guarantee the freedom of religion and speech? So how is it that if an evangelical Christian voices his or her belief that marriage is for a man and a woman ... how is that a "danger to any freedom loving American?" It seems to me that the attitude being displayed by this woman (and others like her) are more of a threat to those of us who cherish our constitutional freedoms!

3. We who believe in the CLEAR teaching of Jesus (can Matthew 19:4-7 be any clearer?) must not back off or be ashamed to speak out about our beliefs. However, as we do we must always remember to speak the truth in love!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj