Recently the issue over gay marriage has been sent up to the Supreme Court. There is a lot of talk about the implications of what will come from this. But I think we need to not get caught up there. Not that I am a prophet but I foresee in the next 5-10 years a bigger issue coming to light. One of pedophilia becoming more publicly accepted and mainstream, or even zoophiles (already legal in some countries), which the way things are going would not be far-fetched. Whenever a society starts making nature, our emotions the determiners of what is right and wrong, then it becomes open season on morality.
When I was having a talk with one of my friends who had become a lesbian, she admitted to me, that her arguments for it being right were no different than that of pedophiles. The reason she said it was right is because that is how she felt, it was her nature, which many pedophiles now claim. Right now in Germany pedophiles and zoophiles are having open protests claiming that they are acting and feeling in accordance with the way they were born. In America some psychologists are saying it’s not unnatural for adults to have an attraction towards younger children, that it’s a natural disposition.
There are still some that feel with proper awareness and intervention, the desires can be curbed. Scientists admit this is an urge that they naturally have but talk about some having a greater ability to curb that desire and control it, while some are less able to control it and act out upon it.
The hypocrisy is evident in this because worldly reasoning goes: since I was born this way, then its wrong for me to go against how I was born. The reason though scientists and others are more apt to find ways of helping people go against their pedophilic tendencies is because it’s still considered a social taboo.
But regardless of this, in the same way that homosexuality went from being a mental disorder and social taboo to just being a matter of nature, and then eventually accepted in society, pedophilia and all other kinds of sexual deviations will soon be seen as normative.
I grant you it may not be to the same extent of homosexuality, but whenever a society gets away from a standard to base morality on, such as God and the word of God, then the standard disappears. G. K. Chesterton once stated that “when one does not believe in God, its not that they believe in nothing, it’s that they will believe in almost anything.”
In our society, with the sexual revolution that occurred in the 60’s and the homosexual revolution currently in progress we will see more and more of a revolution where people will not know right from wrong. I argue that it’ll be even more than what we are already seeing happen.
People offended or even repulsed at such a thought need only look back 30 years in America’s history of what was and was not acceptable. What was repulsive and offensive then and what is accepted now. When it comes to loosening morality, the trend is always downward. We have glamorized rebellion, but ironically let the rebels set the new standard of what’s right. This cycle will continue to only get worse. In light of this, what are we to do as Christians? There are four points I want to make in looking at this issue.
1. We need to be paving the way of loving the outcasts.
When it comes to Christians, we need to show we don’t just love what seems acceptable but truly love everyone. Will you be willing to share love with those that have wronged you?
When I was talking with a man from Egypt, he told me and showed me pictures of when ISIS killed 20 members of his church and even his daughter who was a doctor providing humanitarian aid. But, even in his circumstance he said to me, “Even though they kill us, we must love them.” He now has a ministry that reaches out to Muslims.
My conversation with that man convicted my heart to pray and love even more greatly those that I would tend to hate or just be disgusted with in my flesh. We need to be those that show what it truly is to love someone you disagree with, are even repulsed by.
It seems almost trendy now to be an evangelical that shows their love for homosexuals. But if we are going to be consistent, will we state our love for pedophiles, zoophiles, and even ISIS? Can we show the world what it really is to love the unlovable and have compassion on them while still showing them we do not agree.
Let us think of Jesus. He loved His disciples, and I’m sure He even loved Judas up till the end. He chose Judas even though he was used by Satan to betray him. Even when Judas came to betray Him, Jesus still called him friend.
When Jesus was on the cross He still prayed for the forgiveness of those that put Him on the cross. We as the church need to set up ministries to reach out to those that are seen as the worst without shaming them but with the same love Christ showed us.
2. Remember how holy God is!
In Isaiah 6 the cherubim cried out “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God almighty.” In 1 Peter 1:16 God commands, “you must be holy, for I am holy.” When we look at the holiness of God it should humble us, put fear into us, and remind us that though we love those that are in sin, we do not in anyway join or approve of their sin. When you love someone, you want the best for that person, and the best for everyone that’s not saved is to receive Jesus Christ as savior and the imputed righteousness that comes with this. They then will be seen as holy before God in Christ. If they are a Christian dealing with sin, then you love them with correction from the word of God (2 Timothy 3:16).
3. Remember your sin
There is no room to cast stones when you remember that you are a sinner (Romans 3:23).
When you are reminded you were one that deserved only God’s wrath in hell you realize you have no reason to boast except in Christ. When you are reminded that you were one that did nothing to please God, and you are just as bad if not worse than the sinner you may be condemning, you learn to have compassion from one sinner to another.
Someone once said, “I’m just a beggar telling another beggar where to eat.” We are all sinners, who before a holy God all need grace. Which leads to my next point.
4. Remember that you were saved by grace
The reality is that you did nothing to save yourself. You did nothing to earn God’s favor. God saved you purely because of His own delight and choice. If God did not save you then you would still be in your sins, still just as ignorant and blind as those in the world. Remember the grace God showed you in sending His son to take on flesh, suffer, and die on the cross for you. Remember we were all shown compassion and love by God even when we were at our worst.
In conclusion, no matter the outcome of the court case, the next hot button topic, or what God brings into your life, the question remains the same: will you love them?
