I read this amazing article on The Huffington Post the other day. Wouldn’t it be nice if every parent could be as insightful and loving as this one:
… The first time you’re born, you identify the people in the room as your family. The second time you’re born, you identify the whole world as your family. Christianity is not about joining a particular club, it’s about waking up to the fact that we are all in the same club. Every last one of us. So avoid discussions about who’s in and who’s out at all costs. Everybody’s in, baby. That’s what makes it beautiful. And hard. If working out your faith is not beautiful and hard, find a new one to work out. And if spiritual teachers are encouraging you to fear anyone, watch them closely, honey. Raise your eyebrow and then your hand. Because the phrase repeated most often in that Bible they are quoting is Do Not Be Afraid. So when they tell you that gay people are a threat to marriage, honey, think hard.
I can only speak from my personal experience, but I’ve been married for nine years and barely any gay people have tried to break up my marriage. I say barely any because that Nate Berkus is a little shady. I am defenseless against his cuteness and eye for accessories and so he is always convincing me to buy beautiful trinkets with our grocery money. This drives your sweet father a bit nuts. So you might want to keep your eye on Berkus. But with the exception of him, I’m fairly certain that the only threats to my marriage are my pride and anger and plain old human wanderlust. Do not be afraid of people who seem different than you, baby. Different always turns out to be an illusion. Look hard.
Chase, God gave you the Bible, and He also gave you your heart and your mind and I believe He’d like you to use all three. It’s a good system of checks and balances He designed. Prioritizing can still be hard, though. Jesus predicted that. So he gave us this story. A man approached Jesus and said that he was very confused by all of God’s laws and directions and asked Jesus to break it down for him. He said, “What are the most important laws?” And Jesus said, “Love God with all your heart, mind and soul, and love others as yourself.” When in doubt, Chase, measure all your decisions and beliefs against that. Make damn sure that you are offering others the same rights, courtesies, and respect that you expect for yourself. If you do that, you can’t go wrong…
Read the rest of the article here.
Riggledo 
That is incredible advice. I love it! If only the whole world could think like this.
I so agree!!!
An interesting perspective. Honestly, all of the politics floating around today about “gay rights this” or “gay people that” drive me insane. As the article said, why do we have to define them as “gay people?” Can’t we just treat them as “people?”
Exactly. And PEOPLE should all have equal rights.
Personally, and I know I’m in a minority with this thinking, but I don’t view it as a fight to gain rights, I view it as a fight to stop being treated as an outsider, to stop being seen as something that is different and abhorrent. I don’t really want to know what you’re doing in your bedroom, and you shouldn’t care what I’m doing in mine. At the end of the day, the only thing that should matter is, I’m an American, Human Being and as such, I should not be deprived of anything that is readily and unquestioningly given to the next American, Human Being.
Hell of a message here. And very true.
I don’t keep up with a lot of the gay rights battles that happen, I think the whole thing is kind of silly, to be honest, but I have seen a LOT of references to admonitions in the Bible and things of that nature. I’m guessing i must have missed a big event? Is there a religious organization that did something stupid recently?
And thanks for linking up with Story Dam! Hopefully you will try some of the prompts?
If you mean “silly” because it should be a non-issue and everyone should be treated equally, regardless of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, etc., then you’re absolutely right!
I’m not aware of a “big event” recently that might have prompted a surge of posts on the subject. In my case I grew up in a Conservative Christian household that taught me that to be gay was an unforgivable sin… Imagine what that was like, for me.
I posted this story, not as a statement about gay rights but as an argument to all those who would tell us we’re going to hell just for being who we are. Those people are very closed-minded and there are a lot of highly educated scholars who have clearer explanations about what these so-called “admonitions” really mean.
I will definitely try some of the prompts. I happened across this site via someone who posts here and also at Write on Edge. I’m just getting started on Story Dam, but I saw the link-up and figured it was as good a place to start as any!
There you go. Gotta start somewhere, right?
And yes, that was what i meant by silly. I should have clarified.
One thing that always amazed me about religion is that every one says not to judge others. Um. I think a few folks missed that intro. 🙂
Yeah, apparently that “Judge not, lest ye be judged” thing, only applies to everyone else. 🙂
I am not a Christian myself, but this? This I understand. This I can believe in. And Nate Berkus? Totally a threat to my marriage. Damn his visionary eyes.
Having grown up a gay kid in a conservative Christian home, this article really spoke to me, personally.
But you’re absolutely right! You don’t have to be a Christian for the message to be just as valuable!