It started because some guy at the church event couldn't take a super mildly homo joke that I made in the whatsapp group. Let's call him Purple because he was purple in the WA group.
-Cameras rolling-
Green is a girl who is currently in Australia and we are shamelessly asking for souvenirs:
Me: I want souvenirs! The best of Australia can le haha.
Purple: Please bring back some hot hunks and babes? :P
Not attached to you (Green) of course. I'm speaking on behalf of those who want the best stuff from Australia
Me: Hahaha I want hunks. Purple can have my leftovers.
Purple: It's okay I like mine from Singapore ;)
Me: -_- Eh, your loss
Purple: Hey why would I take your leftovers... im a guy...
Me: Hahaha did you just get it ;P
Purple: Oh gosh
Dont do this
Red Blue Orange
Please reply to confirm that you've read
Red: Noted.
Blue: Yeah I've read.
Purple: Thanks guys. Orange?
Orange keeps quiet
-The End-
I got so pissed at him. It was a super mildly homo joke, why can he not just accept the joke with grace? If he didn't like that I joked like that, he could have just went "hahaha no thanks" or made another joke out of it. Why did he have to gather all his brothers like they are going to officially rage war against me? It seemed like he was looking for witnesses to tell me off.
My situation is a very sticky one. See, I'm the daughter of a pastor who is also the chaplain of a hospital. He has problems of his own and now has a very rocky relationship with his co-workers. And like all people in power, there will always be those sly little (can I say worthless) wannabes near you that will not rest until they have shamed you and turned the world against you just so they can feel a little bit powerful. If purple and his gang told on me to just any pastor, word will spread, no doubt about it. I'll be labelled as the girl who is insensitive to homosexuality or is the girl who is pro-homosexuality. Concerned members and pastors will approach my Dad because of this. I'm not afraid of him reprimanding me because honestly, it was a stupid joke. But as word spreads, some people will no doubt start to shun him. The wannabes will take this juicy opportunity and wreck my Dad's hard-earned reputation. Homosexuality is a very touchy subject in the Christian faith, especially in today's media influence.
While I can convince my Dad to believe that it was just a stupid joke, I do not have the power to change the opinion of the public. Christians are not as holy as some would like to think. I know many surface Christians who were only there to reap some sort of personal gain from the church, and some people are just that narrow-minded to make it their goal in life to make other good people miserable. Not to mention the gossip. The gossip is the worst thing ever. One little tiny detail leaks out, and the next day everyone knows about the exaggerated version and is judging you for it.
I have to work with purple and his gang for the next two weeks in close proximity. God, help me.
Alright now let me be clear about the Christian view of homosexuality. As it is very clearly stated in the Bible, homosexuality is a sin.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 - "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."
(Leviticus 18 makes the rules regarding sexuality very clear, such as condemning incest and bestiality)
Leviticus 18:22 "Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman. It is a detestable sin." (NLT)
Leviticus 20:13 "If a man practices homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman, both men have committed a detestable act. They must both be put to death, for they are guilty of a capital offense."
There are a lot of verses regarding homosexuality, you can look them up yourself if you're interested. On the other hand, the Bible says that we cannot judge or show favouritism and that we must love our enemies (those we dislike and continually conflict with) more.
"My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism." James 2:9
While we know that homosexuality is a sin, we have no right to judge or discriminate others, because we ourselves are sinners. I'd like to compare this to Jean Valjean's situation in Les Miserables. He was sentenced to an insane amount of time in prison for stealing a loaf of bread. Was stealing wrong? Yes, yes it was. However, we don't really feel that Jean Valjean is a criminal even though he stole something, because he did it with a reason. He stole the bread to feed his sister's children because they were starving. Was it a good cause? Yes. But is it still a crime? Yes, stealing is always a crime. But the morally right motive lightens the severity of the crime. Was the sentence fair? Heck, no. Suppose he is a rich man who stole some poor man's bread just for the fun of it. Is the crime the same? Yes, pretty much. But the severity is vastly different because of current circumstances and motive.
And that's how I think the Christian faith should approach homosexuality. Yes it is a sin, but it is also very unfair to form a stereotype and judge everyone based on it. Stereotyping them is like sentencing them to tens of years in prison. Like how some people say that it is just a lust thing. Maybe it's not. Maybe it was an escape or maybe it was the only tenderness somebody have ever known. We also do not have the right to judge others because we ourselves are sinners. We have lied and cheated others, at the very least. In fact, like how we are now trying to approach criminals held in jails, we have to treat them all with genuine concern and care. We have no right to discriminate, because we ourselves are not without flaws.
Well, that's just my two cents. I honestly have not made up my mind about this issue, mainly because of the heavy influence of the media today that is all of a sudden very pro-homo. I mean no disrespect to anyone, I just wanted to get my thoughts out there. Also, the words of the Bible are very easily misread. Us humans have the amazing ability of contorting things into whatever that fits us. Really though, who out there knows all the best answers to everything? Sometimes it's not a matter of right or wrong, but a matter of priorities of right and wrong.
It's 12.30am I should sleep. Have a full day tomorrow and I have to confront Purple. I just had to get it off my chest. Goodnight~ :)
