What is it about religious liberty that freaks people out? It’s not a new concept and was in fact, one of THE main reasons we are all here in this nation of the United States Of America. And one of our Constitutional rights. See for yourself:)
In an attempt to legitimatize a particular existence ( notice I didn’t say choice), everyone is running wild to protect a spirit of disorder and mammon at the expense of any and all sanity called freedom. Religious or otherwise. “You Will Be Made To Care“.. a new body of work written by Erick Erickson, could not be more timely with regard to the political jihad occurring at the state level of Georgia regarding RFRA Religious Liberty For All and in many other states, notwithstanding the colorful yet misleading, mantra “love wins”. Nope. Lust Wins
For those of us in the Church, well, we’ve had our days on the church porch sipping iced tea while chanting, ” I don’t care what they do as long as they don’t bring it near me”. Well, SURPRISE! Our apathy has come home to roost fellow Jesus lovers. Heads in sand and bottoms in air (ahem), we are now subjected to the rhetoric of an otherwise subculture of our society who has used the megaphone of the ever- divisive LGBT to propagate its polarizing fear, lies and pride. They will stop at nothing to be heard and ultimately legitimized. It’s just like satan to pimp his own.
Yes, I’m okay calling evil, evil because I’m not co-dependent with the devil. And my personal gay friends are thankfully, not aligned with the LGBT and realize they have their own relationship to forge with the Lord, I’m not a hater, I’m also not their judge and able to speak the Truth of Christ without condemnation. They also know freedom is freedom and they can actually call upon a gay baker and a gay clergyman/woman Gay and Lesbian Yellow Pages and live a relatively peaceful life here one earth. True Story.
Here’s a real newsflash for those of you who seek to be made legitimate by virtue of your sexual preferences, skin color, creed or nationality as you attempt to rob the rest of us of what GOD endowed and our founding fathers said “Amen!” to….Ready?
You. Are. Legitimate. How do I know this? Because you live. Yes, fellow sojourner of life, you matter and your choices are yours to own, as are mine. In spite of the confusion surrounding your genitalia or memories of ancestral cotton fields. You matter because GOD says you do. Truth As a minister and citizen of the United States, I will not be bullied by threats of lack of patronage, silencing my voice and adulterating the Truth through litigation or ‘your life matters more’. Nope.
See, I know who I serve and why. I know who ‘wins’ in this epic drama of spiritual unfolding rooted in Ephesians 6:12 More Truth and I will not silently sit by any longer and watch as the minority rules through mob-like organizations and with lawlessness spurned by those forked tongued turncoats we call political leaders who make back door (ahem again) deals with the bullies of commerce and entertainment TurncoatsRUs. We are watching and we vote. Just FYI. Following the money isn’t as precarious as it once was.
I tell people regularly, any time you have a person or group of people who have been ‘rejected’ by society and live on the fringes of a cultural norm, you will find a dynasty of satan’s kingdom in the way of fear and pride, rooted in rejection.
I could have started my own interracial marriage coalition years ago, rooted in abject disdain for basically, blacks and whites. Yep, equal opportunity haters. I understood the plight of the gay couple who just wanted to live their lives in peace and not feel hated and rejected. We were equally discriminated against, with a sweet little baby to boot. But I didn’t run to the Capitol and demand that someone make my life okay for choosing to marry outside of my race. Or demand that people be silenced or seek to desecrate others’ Constitutional rights. I didn’t file suit against the black baker or the white. I went to Publix, ordered my cake and I ate it too. I enjoyed my day, complete with a black groom and white bride topper. I didn’t threaten to sue my southern BBQ company who catered my wedding and maybe thought twice about hanging my husband upon their arrival. Nope. I carried on.
I’m not sure which Bible you read that states that homosexuality is ordained of God. Sorry. Any more than one that states, lying is too. Biblical Homosexuality 101. You may have been born gay, but you weren’t created gay. (too long to explain here) That would make God schizophrenic. Adam & Eve. Cultural shifts occur with renewing or debasing of the mind. I think it’s safe to say, we are in a moral decline at the expense of our sanity. Some of you may adhere to “if you can’t beat em’ join em’ cause after all, God is love and loves everyone”. You err. God IS love and he HATES evil. Separate a sinner from their sin, sure, but that doesn’t alter the Truth.
Here’s an idea I think most of my gay and straight friends can agree on… Keep your freedom to be whatever you choose or need to be and allow the rest of us to adhere to the liberties already proscribed. A little thing called the First Amendment. Simple.
Much love, peace and sanity.
M
2 Comments
Monica, I Love You!!!! You say what I’m thinking SO WELL. I certainly can’t string words together like you can and make it make sense!
Minister Matthews,
It takes some real brass to be “vulnerable” by speaking the “truth in love”; Kudos. As I read through your article I could not help but sense the “enemy at the gates” you’re speaking to; fear and to make matters worse —-you are not afraid-, indeed that is “frightening” to our adversaries both physically and spiritually. Insecure people of every kind are intimidated by boldness and attempt to translate it into hate or contempt on your part. Fear is the driving force behind every side’s plight in these issues; I contend understanding leveraged with faith is the antidote. The Neurotic Religious Fanatic who is afraid of being seduced by a particular sin finds themselves battling sinners to shield themselves from being overcome. How many TV Evangelicals preached against a particular sin only to be discovered engaging in it themselves? Think of the Islamic Mullah who suggest a woman’s sexual appeal is the root evil rather than their own sexual obsession- these who demonize women and turn to pedophilia as an acceptable lesser of two evils.
If we look at Homophobia- A condition before the age of PC filtering that was known in the Psychiatric community as a condition where an individual fears being overcome by a homosexual i.e. fear of advances as if one may be “made gay”. Other types of fear within Homophobia is the fear that Homosexuals compete against the phobic’s ability to secure a mate. If we make the PC mistake of not taking psychology [including sexual dysmorphia/dysfunction] into consideration when evaluating these sociological phenomena we do ourselves a great disservice intellectually. In summation towards this point; excessive compulsive fear serves as a destructive force to social harmonics and strangely creates divisions in the name of unity/peace-
Fear is the root of racism more than hate, hate is one of products of irrational & ungodly fear. Many who grow up in western culture as people of color are frequently looked at with suspicion or fear; I say this not in terms of those who dress like thugs [thugs of all colors earn suspicion], rather those people who are judged superficially as dangerous or intimidating because of the color of their skin. This fear in the eyes of others creates resentment, distrust, and animosity. These are all systemic of irrational fears.
If the Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom I would suggest fear of our human neighbors is the beginning of foolishness. The LGBT movement as well as the White Supremacy groups share the same motivation. Dominate what you fear, subjugate all to a single paradigm, and desecrate all things not in step with the “dream culture” they aspire for- a mentality void of true love.
Some may criticize me here for not speaking in theological terms, or proof texting as to why a particular party is in Biblical Error- I look to Jesus who took on a very perfect approach towards those struggling with sin, his aim was and remains the human heart and it’s motives. The Gospel contains no call to repent from specific sin, rather to turn from the condition of sin and look to the LORD for redemption. There is no line item list of sins or checklist of do’s and dont’s in the presentation of the Gospel as it would be premature.
We as the Church must remember the lost are “dead”, dead people can’t DO or HEAR anything- this is the miracle of the Gospel in that the deaf can hear and the blind can see “TRUTH” after they have come to the Knowledge of God. Preaching at those who struggle with sin before they have been divinely enlightened is futile. If it’s the Church’s goal to invoke “conviction” in people who do not have the Spirit of God they do so in vanity and without Biblical Mandate. Saint Paul did speak to many moral doctrines; yet which one was written to the lost? Was not the book of Leviticus addressed to the Elect just as the Pauline Epistles are written specifically to the Churches? The only message approved for the lost world is “Good News”. Period.
Minister Matthews we have Three Ordained Audiences [a subject I may expound on at a latter date]- Our Three Ordained Audiences are thus: The LORD of Host, The Lost, and The Church/Elect. In these three there also exist a posture that is appropriate to take with each, and only one of these are we allowed to fear; Namely God and none other. If we remove fearfully motivated hatred from our conversation with the lost then, and only then, can we anticipate conversion as the response. We have to be honest in evaluating our motives- are we speaking to the lost world “Good News” or are we combating the sins we fear?
The stepsister of Fear is “Mistrust” , the overtly religious individual does not Trust YOUR ability to discern what is right in the eyes of the LORD for YOU. And before anyone decides to remind me that “no Scripture is of private interpretation” I am not speaking to the interpretation of Scripture, rather the personal convictions written in our heart by the LORD and born out of our “relationship” with the same. They want to ensure you AGREE with line item doctrines/moral positions as to feel more secure in their own beliefs and convictions. When we have sincere convictions they remain unchallenged no matter what others think or believe. Romans Chapter 14 is indicative of our need to allow one another to work through our personal convictions and not attempt to force our moral positions into moral impositions; furthermore Saint Paul begins with these words so great I shall not even elaborate- I’ll let the folks pick their version . . . . It still resonates perfectly the same:
**New International Version
Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.
**New Living Translation
Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong.
**English Standard Version
As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.
**Berean Study Bible
Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on his opinions.
**King James Bible
Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
In His Love and Care,
Rev. Lester W. Gainey