Here we go….I am writing to my Christian peeps….Alright y’all…The Jen Hatmaker thing…Are we SERIOUSLY going to do this??? The headlines are going to start reading “Christians maim, kill and eat their own” story at 11. So basically very popular Christian blogger, author and speaker Jen Hatmaker came out in support of gay marriage and Christians are FLIPPING OUT and boycotting her left and right. Dang are we as a group good at instant freak out or what???
Here’s the thing….we wonder why the world sees us as bigoted, screaming lunatics who don’t love anyone who doesn’t think the exact same way we do. The church is scrambling to figure out why people are running for the hills as fast as their little legs can carry them to get away from us. THIS IS WHY!!! Ok, deep breath…. I don’t agree with Jen and her husband’s interpretation of scripture. I believe the Bible is very clear on the subject of homosexuality. Now WAIT….if you don’t agree with me, please read on! Don’t judge and freak out and start screaming and spitting at me…just chill a sec and hear me out. I believe the Bible is clear on the matter. I DO NOT however believe that the Bible teaches Christians to go on hate rampages and run people in the LGBT community off. That’s not what God is about. God is about LOVE. He is LOVE! Homosexuality has become the “sin de jure” these days in terms of hate from the Christian community. Oh we rant and rage when this comes up…but then we totally look the other way at our own who deal with raging, hateful anger or pornography or emotional or physical abuse of family or substance abuse or self abuse of our bodies or child abandonment or using “the flock” for personal excessive monetary gain or treating the world like “it’s all about me” or any other thing in the world that is helping us miss the mark for God’s will for our lives. We get our pink lacy thongs all in a twist…wait…good Christian girls don’t wear those….we get our granny panties all in a twist so dang easily.
Here’s the thing…We CAN LOVE EVERYONE AND NOT LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM AND THEIR LIVES! Y’all, my husband loves me. Of this I have NO doubt. But I’ve been with the man for over 20 years…I KNOW he does not love everything about me. I’m a work in progress. I get to be perfect on the other side….not here. I am not 100% loveable. No one is. But here’s the thing…He does not kick me out of the house. He does not tell me I am no longer welcome. He does not refuse to sit next to me at church. He does not hate me and ignore me. He does not tell me I am going to hell because I am not perfect. So why are we doing these things and treating people like we can only love them if we totally agree with them and they totally agree with us? And why do people think love has to include loving every single thing about them? It doesn’t. Jesus loved…He loved the imperfect…no matter. He loved.
So, I beg you, stop hatin’ on Jen! If you’ve read her husband’s post you can see their heart and the amount of time and study and prayer before they came to this decision. I have to honor and respect that because so many of us just take the chewed up, spoon fed messages we hear from church or listening to messages online or reading blogs and we don’t commit ourselves to study of God’s Word for ourselves and then really taking the time and wrestling with issues. The Hatmakers did. And even if I don’t agree this time, I applaud them and still agree on many things they do believe.
I am not God (thank the good Lord above)…You are not God (again, all praise to Him). We need to stop thinking that we are because when we do we spread a MESSED UP message about Him. AND although I believe I am right, stranger things have happened than me being wrong. So what if I am wrong about this interpretation of scripture and Jen is right…Well, at least I loved through it and was not wrong and a total jerk.
God is God. God is love
This is what we are called to friends….love. So I beg you…please…love people.
And Jen, if you happen to read my little peanuts nothing of a blog please know that there are folk who are not embracing this season of insanity no matter if we agree or not. You are loved
A Beautiful Mess 