Get In The Game

Another news article came to my attention today. This one is from The Tennessean, Nashville's local daily newspaper. "New gay rights push targets Metro Nashville policies" is the article and link if you are interested. The article is about an "ordinance being discussed [that] would be limited to protecting Metro employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity." After reading the article I went through the comments. Several people identifying themselves as Christian voiced their opposition to the measure based on the moral authority of the Bible. It truly pains me to see the name of Christ, and the Bible used in this way. My comment was this:

"The issue here is that people who are in same sex relationships should not be discriminated against for that reason. We must be very careful when we call ourselves Christian in one breathe, and argue against fair treatment for all in the next. When we call ourselves Christian then we place ourselves on the side of the Christ. From that perspective, the perspective of Christ, we are challenged to view the world and the people in it, the way God sees them. The very words and actions of the Christ we follow encourage us to a more tolerant, loving and inclusive path. The Jesus of the gospels did not and would not diminish anyone's humanity, even pointing out that God makes the sun shine on both the just and the unjust. From the parable of the Good Samaritan, to healing lepers by actually touching them, a close reading of the Gospels will reveal a Jesus whose condemnatory remarks were for the religious conservatives of his day, who had turned God's spiritual honey into religious vinegar."

At issue in this debate is not the morality of homosexuality, simply the rights of these individuals as citizens, equal citizens, of the city of Nashville. That is not to say that Christians should be uninvolved. We are not suggesting that because this is not a debate about personal morality and practice we as Christians should not engage the debate. On the contrary Christians should be very much engaged in the debate! The debate, while not one of personal morality, is a moral debate none-the-less.

The debate is about the morality of the government, and by broader implication, of the society, and culture by which that government is made up. Will the government be inclusive, or selective? Will it live up to it's stated, and implied responsibility to protect and serve all of it's citizens or only some. Will it turn a blind eye toward alienation, and disenfranchisement? Or, will it turn a deaf ear to calls for treatment based on judgementalism, prejudice, and misguided religious fervor? In this debate Christians must not only be involved but must take the lead!

It is our duty to follow in the footsteps of the Master, to speak truth to power, even if that truth is an uncomfortable one. We cannot sit by quietly, or even worse yet take sides with the very same "powers and principalities" that the Master decried in days when he walked this earth in bodily form. We, who believe in a risen, living Jesus, must be willing to be yoked up with Him in the battle for justice and equality for all.

Our position and responsibility as Christians is clear, we cannot sit on the sidelines, we cannot support the status quo, we have to stand up for what is right from the viewpoint of the Christ we serve and in so doing . . .

Make A Difference . . . For Life!