What the Church can learn from the LGBT Community!
Lately, I have been extremely grieved by the amount of blogs & articles on Facebook written by believers for the sole purpose of bashing another believer or leader’s theology, lifestyle, message etc. I wish people could see that this is the direct equivalent of the body of Christ shooting itself in the foot. First and foremost, I would like to say that if you have a problem with someone’s ministry, take it up with them directly rather than publicly humiliating them (Matthew 18:15). Have the decency to let someone explain themselves before you tear them to shreds, simply because they miscommunicated or said something that they didn’t fully mean. And even if they meant what they said, and it doesn’t seem right to you, don’t you think that the God of this Universe is in control enough to speak to a person and bring them into order & alignment (Matthew 7:4)? If we could agree that Jesus is Lord, and continue to love each other despite small differences, nothing would be impossible for the body of Christ.
A few days ago, I was reading in Genesis 11 about the tower of Babel. It says in verse 6, “And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.” Even though the agenda of the people was unrighteous, prideful & rebellious, their unity made anything possible for them. As I read this, God began to speak to me regarding the liberal agenda. The reason that wickedness has infiltrated our schools & our Nation is because those who are pushing for it are unified, while the body of Christ is divided.
The gay pride movement has one voice. The homosexual community doesn’t care about their differences in lifestyles, race, or even morals. They accept each other & refuse to allow small differences to get in the way of their ultimate goal. I have never seen an article or blog by a homosexual bashing the different LGBT organizations for a difference in opinion or belief. These individuals show up & show off at every gay pride event to support the movement, they use every resource they have for the cause. They donate to the LGBT charities, they spend time writing letters to politicians, they show up to vote in the polls & they never let go of any ground they’ve gained on the matter. If they think someone has wronged their people, they will spend everything they have to make a point. (example: a state forced a Christian couple to pay a fine on the basis of discrimination when they refused to have a lesbian couple married at their ranch). They are persistent when it comes to getting their way. Their mantra is “whatever it takes!” Such zeal & passion is commendable.
The Body of Christ is so busy self-destructing that there is no time to promote God’s agenda in the earth. When I imagine the Body of Christ, I see an obese, mutilated person, rather than a beautiful, loving bride. The hand is taking a knife to its wrists, instead of reaching out in love. Its feet are walking in circles, while we beat a dead horse arguing over theologies & doctrines. Its knees are buckling from the obesity caused by lethargy & laziness. It’s tongue only speaks of self-hatred, and its eyes only ever see fault & error. When will we realize that love conquers all & covers a multitude of sins? That Jesus crosses all boundaries & differences amongst us? Why are we more concerned about debating the topics of drinking or the prosperity gospel than we are concerned about souls saved by Jesus Christ, the son of God?
Loyalty to your denomination shouldn’t be more important than showing the love of God! Why do you hardly ever see people of different denominations working together? If we had made the choice, long ago to work together, the liberal agenda would have never gained this much ground, because at one point, that ground that they’ve gained was held by the body of Christ. “If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” Mark 3:25
In Luke 16:1-8, Jesus tells a parable where he commends a shrewd steward for being willing to do whatever it took to take care of himself. In verse 8 he says, “The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.” I believe this was Jesus ways of explaining to his followers that we need to be more motivated! This world is motivated by selfish ambition, but how much more should we be motivated & defined by love & selflessness, specifically because of the forgiveness that He gave us & the price that He paid? We have so much more to be thankful & excited for, & yet the world is outdoing us in their efforts to remove God from our society!
It’s time for the church to mature past small differences & focus on what’s really important: souls saved and God exalted in the earth! What would the body look like, if it only spoke words of edification & encouragement? How would it change the world if we showed up to pray & worship together regardless of denomination, in numbers like the LGBT community shows up for Gay Pride Parades & events? What if we spent the majority of our time, money and resources on furthering the Kingdom of God? What if believers were motivated by souls instead of self-righteousness? Would the body unconditionally loving itself make others actually want to be a part of it? How would it change outcomes of elections & laws if every single believer went to the polls & wrote letters to our politicians? What would it look like if the body of Christ was more unified than the people who tried to build the Tower of Babel?
Romans 12:4-14 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Out do one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
*Disclaimer: I am in no way, shape or form, saying that theology, doctrine & knowing the word is not important, because the Bible says “my people are destroyed from a lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). But I do think that what we agree on needs to unite us more than what we disagree on divides us. Knowing the word is one of the biggest keys to maturing the body of Christ. In fact, I believe that most disagreements are probably caused by ignorance or lack of knowledge, so as with all things, there must be a balance.
