Today on Facebook you may have noticed a number of red equal signs appear on the profile pictures of your friends, or perhaps even your own. You will not see one on mine.
I watched comments shooting back and forth from those posting for and against gay marriage, and though I am on one side, I didn't say anything. Cowardice? Maybe. I've got a lot of friends that are pro gay marriage, and to be quite honest, I don't want to lose them. Because I don't hate them. I love them very much. And it complicates the matter.
You know what I do hate? Being accused of hate. There are no people I truly hate, and those that come close, I'm praying to be able to forgive. Perhaps that's part of the reason I said nothing (and as this blog is anonymous it's still mostly nothing). I'm not really sure, and I'm going to have to spend a lot of time thinking about it.
I think this is the heart of the matter: You don't have to agree with someone in order to love them. The opposite of that is relativism, that all truths are equally good and loving someone is agreeing with them all the time on everything. It's what people mean when they say "Don't judge me." I'm pretty sure, that driven to an extreme, no one would agree to that. Our entire country would fall into chaos. Let's just say, for example, that a serial killer says, "Don't judge me." Are you alright with that? I didn't think so.
So if I don't agree with you, is it out of hate? I hope that anyone who does know me would never think that. In fact, beyond the Bible verse slinging and arguments for complementarity in sexual unions, I disagree because I love you. This world is temporary, fleeting. I want for you what I want for me--heavenly glory. Eternal happiness, joy, and peace. Complete union with the creator. If that doesn't line up with the world's opinions, so be it.
Even if you don't agree that there is a God or heaven beyond this earth, that's what I believe. Therefore, because that is my worldview, I am putting the good of you first, though you may not like it. Is it right to blame me for that? To accuse me of hate?
There are people out there that hate, but I don't I don't think that's the majority. It's labels like that keep us from authentic dialogue, which is vital to a functioning society. I hope we'll be able to get there some day.
I know I've barely scratched the surface of the issue, but those are some basic thoughts. Maybe you've had some of your own. Feel free to share in the ComBox.
Update: After a courageous friend posted that she disagreed with the same sex marriage movement, I finally had the courage to post this: http://catholicexchange.com/the-truth-about-same-sex-attraction/
It's a pretty awesome article. Check it out. Not sure how it'll come across on Facebook, but it's worth it in the end, right?
No comments:
Post a Comment