So, yesterday I played golf with a friend of mine. In the golf cart was an advertisement for the Martini Lounge. The last time I had a martini was at a bar in Chicago where transvestite sang for entertainment. I told him I was not a fan of martinis, nor transvestites, but not for the reasons you might think. Martinis, mainly because they are pretentious, and transvestites because they wear too much makeup. I hate makeup. It is why I hate clowns, Shakespearian actors, Halloween, and anyone who works for or shops at Mary Kay.
The conversation continued into a more controversial area and that is homosexuality as a sin and laws that have been proposed to prevent certain lifestyles, such as gay marriage. I realize that this is a hot topic for many of my readers. Hell, it is a hot topic for many Americans, but I do not want to discuss whether or not homosexuality is correct or not. Quite frankly, I don’t care, but I am interested in the concept of what I will call “The inequality of sin”.
If you are a Christian, or a believer and follower of the Bible, you are aware there are a number of commandments on how one should live. The Bible is considered by many as the Word of God and when one does not live by the Bible’s commandments, and therefore God’s Word he is committing a sin. The Bible also clearly states that “… all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” — Romans 3:23. And this is a point that my friend made. “Everybody sins.” He said. I said, “You are right, but the problem is we do not treat sins equally.” Whether you believe in God or not, whether you are a Christian, Muslim, Atheist, Hindu, or Jewish, I bet you do not treat sins equally.
If homosexuality is a sin, then so is sex before marriage, living with someone you are not married to, wanting what is not yours, such as your neighbor’s wife, adultery, and my favorite, divorce. We don’t view people living lifestyles in these “minor” categories as major issues. And we certainly wouldn’t dream of proposing legislation to regulate divorce or living arrangements. It is kind of hypocritical, isn’t it? But this is an issue for everyone. Regardless of your beliefs, my guess is you too have your pet sins. Here is an example: If a man is convicted of being a pedophile, serves his time and is released, where does he live? In your town? My town? The neighboring town? An island? Even if he reforms, never commits that crime again, he is forever labeled and will find it difficult to receive forgiveness anywhere, and I mean ANYWHERE. Would I be OK with a pedophile living near me and my family? Hell no. But I am aware of my areas of hypocrisy, are you aware of yours?
My church starts a series called “Everybody” next week. I am looking forward to it. I believe the church should be more inclusive than it currently is. If you have ever read the Bible, you will know that people absolutely loved hanging with Jesus. You also know that he hung out with people who were CLEAR sinners. People hated him, in part, because of the people he was associated. Think about it. The Christian church just 2000 years ago was a handful of people, and now has a membership of millions … millions. The church was the place to be. When was the last time you heard of the church as the place to be? Jesus was the man. I believe if you met Jesus you would like him. You would want to hang out with him. Jesus was clearly a cool dude. He was your bud, your pal, the kind of guy you could throw up in the back of his car and not get mad. Where is His church? I want to belong to a church that loves EVERYBODY and people feel welcome within its doors. I want EVERYBODY to know that they are loved. Does it mean you must agree with everybody, no but it does mean that we all have issues and we all have fallen short.
I don’t care who you are, you don’t treat sin equally, but if you did, you might not look at that particular person with such disdain and realize, we all got problems. I don’t agree with everyone the same, but I want to love everyone the same. I am not there yet, but I strive to be. How about you?
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Whenever I go to the grocery store and walk through the detergent aisle I think it smells fragrant. I walk and smell the perfumes and fragrances and have the same thought every time: This would be a great place to fart.
Race Credit Karma: Brett's Blog 
Brett, you are an example of what being a good Christian should be all about. Whether that’s about such weighty subjects as being a homosexual or such personal ones as how one treats their own spouse, I am always abhorred when I see a practicing (and self-proclaimed “good”) Christian displaying disrespect, intolerance, and hatred. My own mother is a good example; she seldom has a kind word about anyone who thinks differently from her and who takes out her frustration with life on my father. I have asked her time and again: “Do you think this is how Jesus would behave?” I know I am not the best of daughters and in some ways I disrespect her by doing this, but then again, I am not a practicing Christian. I might be one if the Church was filled with people who think more like you!
1) http://www.slate.com/id/2203614/pagenum/all
Does Religion Make You Nice?
Does atheism make you mean?
Interesting short read.
2) google Doug Stanhope and “would you believe” for a fairly crass version of your posting (NSFW language). I was going to post the link, but it’s really crass.
Hey! I totally agree! I often remind Christian friends that it’s hypocritical for them to despise someone who lives a homosexual lifestyle and completely disregard that sin is sin, no matter what that sin is. So my “small” lie is the same as his watching pornography and her sleeping with her boyfriend and his homosexuality. I am in no way perfect; I can’t judge another’s splinter and condone my own plank.
Good for you to point it out to your friends. I often struggle with the best way to get other Christians to consider their own hypocrisies. It reminds me of the latest controversy with Rob Bell. Why does it seem that Christians are almost proud of the fact that people are going to hell? They should at the very least, be sad of the thought of people going to hell. Have a great day!