Today, I was driving through my old stomping grounds and passed by a club that started some years ago. When I was in high school, this club was called, "231," and it was the town "gay bar." I guess the idea of the numbers being out of alignment is supposed to symbolize some kind of irrational order in their lifestyle. If this is true, then ironically, the owners were at least right in one thing. Today, the club has both changed location and name. It is now called the "Friends Club." The motto is, "Where Friends Meet Friends." My motto for the club is, "Where Sin Meets Sin." The club is brightly colored (pink I believe) and has rainbows painted all over the exterior walls.
When I was driving by this club today, I noticed a blank billboard sitting on the property. The sign on the board sits directly over the club. My immediate reaction was, "What a perfect opportunity to address a huge cultural sin!" So, I dialed the number on the sign and asked the owner how much money it costs to use the billboard. He responded, "One hundred and eighty-five dollars a month." I then asked the man if there were any rules or regulations as to what can be placed on the sign. As if he knew exactly what I was thinking, he responded, "Not unless you want to put a disparaging message concerning homosexuality on the board." I told the man that it all depends on how you define "disparaging." To disparage something means to "belittle" it. My goal was not to belittle homosexuality but to share an important verse with them that explains to them where this type of lifestyle leads--eternal separation from God. 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... effeminate, nor homosexuals...will inherit the kingdom of God."
Today, there are churches that exist that not only allow homosexuals to be a part of the fellowship, but actually only allow homosexuals to be a part of the fellowship. The church needs to understand that there is a difference in sharing the truth in love as opposed to compromising God's standards and ignoring sin. We should share the biblical truth of sexual immorality in love not withholding the grace that was given to us, but at the same time not standing idly by as we see the world living in sin. In some twisted way, many have ignored passages such as the one stated above, and declare that the Bible says nothing about homosexuality, even though the bible speaks of an entire city being destroyed because of this very sin (Genesis 19).
In case you are wondering where I am going with all of this, allow me to be specific: I am talking about compromising biblical truths. First, the rainbow has been compromised to mean something other than a wonderful, beautiful promise from God. Second, the sin of homosexuality is becoming more and more tolerated. Many view it as a gene, such as the color of one's skin, rather than a decision. Third, men such as the owner of this billboard compromise their business ethics so that certain groups of people don't get their feelings hurt. When he discovered what I wanted to put on the billboard, (which I was going to attempt to get a handful of churches to pitch in on), he told me that the billboard is leased by the owner of the gay bar, and that the owner is gay. If I put a message such as 1 Cor. 6:9 on it, then he may get upset and tell him to take the billboard off of his property. In other words, the man was saying, "I would rather have a few extra bucks in my pocket a month than let these individuals know the truth." Some may think that I am being too harsh, but God has standards, and it is about time that we begin to recognize them.
I will close with this illustration. I watch a show called Pardon the Interruption on a daily basis. I have talked about it before. It is a sports show that parallels an African American and Jewish man to argue about the sport's top news stories. Sometimes, one of the hosts is not available so they fill the position with a replacement. One usual replacement is a man named Dan Le Batard. If ever there was a compromising sports analyst in ethics, (at least in his claims), it would be Dan. For example, when Alex Rodriquez admitted to doing steroids, there was a question as to if some youth stadium should continue a relationship with Rodriquez. Apparently, Rodriquez had given tons of money to this youth stadium and they went as far as to name the stadium after him. In arguing his point, Le Batard said, "This is not the type of economy to be making moral decisions in." In other words, "Forget morals and ethics, keep the money!" This example isn't that big of a deal, but the idea of the matter is that in certain situations, as long as it benefits you in some capacity, morals and ethics can be tossed aside. This wasn't the first ethical compromise I heard Le Batard suggest. This is exactly what the billboard owner did today, and it is exactly what we do on a daily basis when we toss aside God's truth to fit our lives.
It is about time that we, the ones who call ourselves Christians, begin living up to what God expects us to live up too. Too often we choose when and when not to follow God's precepts. This is called compromising, and it is a big problem all throughout Scripture. In essence, compromising is likened to creating your own god, rather than just following the One who gave us the Word in the first place.
God has given us more than the promise of never flooding the earth again. He gave us the promise of His Son, Jesus Christ, who actually defeated death. Belief in Him gives us life--the ability to enter into the kingdom of heaven. I believe that everyone struggles with some kind of sin (Hebrews 12:1). Whether it is something as evident as homosexuality, something as socially acceptable as gluttony, or something as secretive as adultery, we are all sinners and we need a savior. C.S. Lewis has written, "None of us are really keeping the Law of Nature" (Lewis, Mere Christianity, 7). That is, "All of us are sinners." Thankfully, God did not compromise when it came to salvation. He knew what it would take to save us, and He tackled it head on.
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