Tolerance

So a thief, a drunkard and a homosexual walked into church last Sabbath.

Two of them were seeking repentance.  One was seeking tolerance.

Guess which?

See, that's the problem with this idea of "tolerance" of the homosexual at church.  If by "tolerance" it simply meant that the congregation understands that "all have sinned and fell short of the glory of God" and thus all should be tolerated no matter the sin that they wrestle with, that would be great.

But "tolerance" nowadays has been redefined to mean "acceptance".  Where we don't have a case of "a brother wrestling with the sin of homosexuality" but instead "an unrepentant homosexual who we should unconditionally accept".

Me, I'll tolerate and accept any man wrestling with a sin - stealing, adultery, fornication, alcoholism, and yeah, even homosexuality.  But I expect them to be either wrestling with it, or at least knowing that they need to be wrestling with it!

He's at a gym.  So while he advocates eating pizza and never
exercising, we can never ever judge.  Because he's here.

What I will not tolerate or accept is the man who shows up, making his sin known and obvious, and expecting everyone to tolerate and accept him having that sin and being that sin, and with NO effort at wrestling with it, or even an acknowledgment that he needs to.

I have heard it said that it's somehow not fair to judge the homosexual, because if you knew the sins of others, they'd be as bad.  Like if the thief and drunkard who attended were being obvious about being thieves and drunkards.  You know, like if they had no shame about who they were, the same as the homosexual has no shame about who he is.

But the point is, neither of those two are being obvious.  Both are ashamed of their sin, and both are trying to overcome the sins of theft and drunkeness.  You do not always know that a member of a church is a thief or a drunkard - or a fornicator or an adulterer - not for them being hypocrites, but for they being ashamed of their status and NOT wishing to be known as that status!

Not so the homosexual.  He wishes to be known - and tolerated and accepted - not as an "active sinner desperately needing to confess and be saved" but as a "homosexual who should be tolerated and accepted as he is".  He wants, in short, to not be ashamed of his sin, but to have his sin "re-branded" as "not a sin".  And when he gets to hold his head up high, while the other sinners hang their heads low, then he's succeeded.

That's what "tolerance" gets a church.  That's what "tolerance" does for that unrepentant homosexual.  And when the group in question is best known for "Thief Pride" - er, sorry, "Gay Pride" parades, we all should have seen that coming.  (And yeah, mommy of a homosexual, I am equating stealing with homosexuality.  They're both sins, or have you been reading the Bud Lite Bible again?  You know, "tastes comforting, less judgey"?)

Kids in the church, meanwhile, who learn a lot more by watching then by listening, see no one going about flaunting their status as thieves and drunkards, and thus correctly learn that such are shameful things to be, and things they should not be.  They also see homosexuals treated as delicately and even reverently as any old timer who has been a stalwart saint of the church for fifty years.

Churches then who think they are ahead of the game in not having homosexual Bishops and Ministers, and in not conducting gay marriages, should not rest so easy.  The younger generation is growing up watching even those churches who are "towing the line" indulge in this "tolerance" and "acceptance" that quickly lets kids learn that only old bigots are against the "brave" homosexuals, while all the regular people in the congregation rush to "encourage" the homosexual.

Not to encourage him to stop sinning, none of them would dare be so "judgmental" as that!  But to encourage him to just keep coming, they love having him, no need to worry, no need to fuss, and certainly no need to do the "r-word"!*

* repent!

What's to be done?  Well, next time you're at church, instead of having the usual conversations that aggrandize homosexuality, make sure that the conversations quickly change back to more appropriate ones.

Example:

Homosexual :  "I've been out of the closet for four years now, and it was a real relief to admit to myself and others who I really am!"

Me:  "Have you picked a date yet?"

Homosexual:  "Excuse me?"

Me:  "When I quit drinking, it aided me to set a date for doing that.  To make my repentance more real and solid.  How about you?  Have you picked a date yet for when you'll not indulge in homosexual behavior ever again?"

Or:

Mother of Homosexual:  "I'm so happy that Bruce feels comfortable attending church here, that he's not made to feel unwelcome like some churches would!  We're hoping his husband will try it here one day, too!"

Me:  "I'm sorry to hear that he's still 'married'.  Glad that he likes the church, but the importance of church is in learning to repent of our sins, and apparently we've so far failed him in helping him learn that.  What do you think we could do differently, so that he'd realize that he needs Christ's atonement as much as we do?"

Or:

Pastor trying to pander to modern crowd:  "It's wrong for us to condemn love, no matter where or how it is found, and that is why we need to change things so that we can marry homosexuals in our church!"

Me:  "Amen!  And let's help the 55 year old FLDS guy marry 5 teen girls, because who are we to judge where love is found, huh?  I mean it's not like we have some book that tells us that marriage is just between one man and one woman....oh, wait, never mind, we do have such a book.  The one you forgot to read this morning in preparing your sermon!"

Or:

LBGTQRSTUV supporter:  "But...but...if we insist that they feel shame or judge them in any way it will drive them from the church!  Church is for sinners, you know, like gyms are for those out of shape!"

Me:  "But...but...if we insist that they're just fine the way they are, and never in the least try to reason with them, what possible good will them being in church be?  Wouldn't that be a bit like the gym that tells the fat guy that he's okay, and what he really needs is another slice of pizza?"

Chuckle over those.  But then re-read them a few times, familiarize yourself with them.  Because I know that in one way, shape or form, you'll have cause to need to trot one of those out.