A fine line between judging and acceptance???
After watching Oprah this morning...(I know some of you are rolling your eyes)
I realized that I just don't know how to feel about this morning's topic. For those of you who don't watch, this mornings show featured Thomas a pregnant male. I know all of you are thinking...Male??? I think not. He was born a female, transitioned into a male but kept his reproductive parts that would make "him" still a "her" but...for the purpose of the show...they are calling him a male.
Now...what do I think about this...especially as a Christian mother. WOW! I have a hard time accepting this as a good thing. Especially considering God created women to be pregnant and my view on that doesn't change(and really...Thomas is a woman). God didn't create man to be pregnant.
I just wonder if the Christian community will make this couple(Thomas and his wife)feel like they are being judged. Are they not worthy of feeling God's love? Who am I to judge? I guess that's where my frustration lies. I don't know if showing them acceptance and God's love means that I am accepting their decision.
And for the record...I have dealt with something like this before. My cousin lives her life as a lesbian. And I have chosen to NOT ignore her, banish her, or make her feel like a bad person....because after all...we all make bad choices or UNGODLY choices. And when it feels like all the "Christians" in her life have chosen to look down at her I don't want to be in that group. Because I would prefer to LOVE.
Sin is sin is sin right? There are no levels of sin. So my sin is the same as Thomas's sin, and who am I to judge him/her?
posted by Erin @ 7:43 AM
6 Comments:
Amen. I, too, have a friend that is lesbian. She was very nervous about telling me simply because she knows how I feel about my faith and she knows in her mind that it's wrong in God's eyes. She was scared of my reaction. She hid it from me for years. But I think I shocked her with my response of: "I do NOT agree with it, BUT you are still my friend regardless and I'm praying for you!"
But you are right, there is this torn part inside of me - where exactly is the line between judging and acceptance? It's a toughy. And I have to remind myself quite often of the "sin is sin, no matter what it is".
Very tricky subject. God loves people but cannot stand with sin. I'm glad God understands and doesn't make me have to figure it all out. :)
I know how much you like Oprah and I thought you'd be interested in seeing this:
http://sweet-teawithlemon.blogspot.com/2008/04/seriously.html
It is true, "Hate the sin, an love the sinner." You must separate the two to a point. If your friend/cousin is not a believer, then you have a tolerance to uphold to "win" them. It is an intentional tolerance that you must have a guard up for how much you accept. But you have to imitate Christ. He didn't go the "holy". He went to the sinners. He dined with tax collectors, prostitutes, thieves, etc. He, no doubt, disagreed(hated) with their sin. But, he never left people the same when he left. He called them out. If the relationship is simply there to be there, then we are being lazy in our mission. But if we are dining to change, press on.
On the flip, if they are a believer, you would need to confront them very directly on it with scripture that shows their sin. If no change is made, then you need to leave, as hard as it may be. If you stay you are in council with the ungodly, which is foolish according to Proverbs.
Our goal in each circumstance must be to lead them toward redemption in Christ. Hope that helps. I think my comment is longer than your post. Oh well.
Sorry. Little PS here:
The site that you link to, Stephanie, the scripture he/she uses to head the post is a warning to the church not to indulge in these things, as well as being alert to watch for them, but he is referring mainly to in the church. He also talks to Timothy about the people abandoning trutand longing for their ears to be tickled. This is corruption in the church. We are still to be in the world. I know you weren't inferring anything with the link, I didn't want to respond to her there. Ok I'll shut up now.
Hate the sin, love the sinner, right?
Sin is sin, but there is a BIG difference between a Christian who is living in sin & someone who doesn't believe in Christ who is living in sin. Kinda like they "don't know any better". I agree with Dan that we have to keep our missionary focus, and almost, for the moment, look past the temporal {gender transition in this case} in order to address the eternal {salvation}.
Hope this helps! Great topic!
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home