One of the core teachings of Christianity is that of love. God commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves, and it was His great act of love that washed away all of our sins. Since love is such an important factor in the Bible, it would make sense for Christians to generally be regarded as loving people. However, there is one issue that causes Christians to be regarded as the opposite of loving, and that is the issue of homosexuality. Many people believe that Christians are homophobic, or that they harbor an unnecessary hatred toward homosexuals. Homosexuality is not in accordance with the Bible, (1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”) but just because we believe it’s wrong doesn’t mean we hate those who practice it. It’s easy to see why Christians are thought to be homophobes- some Christians are hostile toward the homosexual community, and the message ‘homosexuality is a sin’ could easily be taken as a condemnation to hell. But condemning people to hell is the opposite of what we should be trying to do as Christians. A lot of Christians feel uncomfortable at the thought of homosexuality, myself included, and try to distance themselves from it. It’s fine to feel uncomfortable towards homosexuality, as it is unnatural, like all sins, but we shouldn’t let that alter our message. Homosexuality is no different from any other sexual sins- in fact, adultery is condemned in the very same passage as homosexuality. Part of the reason why we feel such an aversion to homosexuality is because a lot of us have never felt same-sex attraction. We can’t relate at all to homosexual desires, which makes it seem even more unnatural to us. However, we shouldn’t have this attitude. Everyone has sin that they struggle with. Some people struggle with homosexuality. We shouldn’t try to distance ourselves from homosexuals and treat them as if they’re unnatural or strange simply because they struggle with something foreign to us. We should treat them just as we should treat everyone- with love and respect, and we should do our best to help them overcome their temptations.
God calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves, and that includes everyone. We might not be able to relate to sins that some people struggle with, but we can all relate to one thing, and that is our dire need for salvation. We are sinful beings, and without a Savior, we would be lost. But Christ has offered salvation to all, and no matter how great the sin, as long as we have faith in Him, we will inherit eternal life. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is life and salvation.
Marie Birkmann – 9th Grade