Real Christians do love those who suffer from prejudice

Although the state of Michigan tends to vote Democrat, and is governed by a Democrat, many parts of the state are conservative. My friend went to a high school in Howell, and LGBT students there still struggle with coming out. Muskegon is home to Ari Beighley, whose parents chose him over the conservative church they grew up in. Ari is gay. Muskegon is also on the West coast of Michigan, which is rather conservative. This explains how a letter like this got sent to the editor.

After reading a recent article about a family that left their conservative church to join a liberal church in support of their homosexual son, I wanted to express some views.

First of all, real Christians believe the Bible is the word of God and do their best to line up their lives with it. They realize the Bible is right and they are the ones that need to adjust, as opposed to those who try to adjust the Bible to their way of thinking. The Bible is very clear on the issue of homosexuality, it is a sin, period. There is no real argument, if you believe the Bible.

Yet, real Christians love homosexuals. You might say, well how do they love them? Like a parent loves their children. They will tell their children not to play in the street, not because they are streetaphobes, but because they know that by playing in the street, their child could get hurt. Parents who love their children will tell them about the evils of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes, not because they are drugaphobes, alcoholaphobes, or cigarettaphobes, but because they know that all these substances will harm and destroy them. A real Christian who believes the word of God will warn homosexuals, first of all, because the Bible commands us to in the book of Ezekiel, second because they have a love and a compassion for those that are being damaged and devalued by that lifestyle.

Now, anything that God calls a sin, he calls a sin not because he is a prude and doesn't want us to have any fun, but because certain lifestyles and actions damage and devalue us as humans created in his image. Why does he say that sex outside of marriage is wrong? Because it damages and devalues people. Just look around and talk to people and you will see wounded lives because of sinful, devaluing sexual activity. Not because God doesn't want us to have any fun, but because it is like hauling garbage with a brand new Lexus. It would devalue it. That is what sin does. It devalues you as a person.

Real Christians love people and want to warn them about things that will devalue them. It is heartwarming that this family rallied around their son and brother, but if they really loved him they would confront him with the truth of God's word and pray for him to see the light so that he could be rescued from this devaluing lifestyle. Many others have been helped by Christians who really loved them by telling them the truth and then helping them to walk out of that devaluing lifestyle, as I have personally seen a number of times. Only truth and love have the power to change a homosexual, while acceptance will only enable them to continue hauling garbage in their new Lexus.

Pastor Tim Cross

Living Word Church

Muskegon

Well, real Christians pray for those who are devalued by lifestyles of bigotry. I'm sorry, that's a bit judgmental. Real Christians pray for those who suffer from all kinds of prejudice. Prejudice devalues us as people. It harms the giver as well as the target.