Treating Others Equally
by Jim Gordon
When thinking about all that is going on in the world today, one main issue is about gay and transgender rights and equality. It is obvious that those who are LGBTQ are being seriously discriminated against and not being treated equally as they should. There seems to be a growing amount of discrimination, exclusion and hatred toward them and even within political decisions as well.
It seems that many who are Christian seem to think it is best to come against those who are LGBTQ as a way of showing that they are in favor of Christian values and want to take a stand for God. The main problem for this way of thinking is the many misinterpretations of biblical verses and not understanding meanings and customs at the time the Bible was written. Many Christian people go so far as to think if you are LGBTQ, then you cannot be Christian.
Personally, as a Christian I think this way of thinking and acting is completely wrong and so against what Jesus taught and lived in regard to how to treat other people. He accepted and spent time with all kinds of people, mostly people who the religious crowd would not want to spend time with or get to know.
Why is it many Christian people think that by taking a stand against someone or something they do not agree with is the way to show true Christian love and acceptance? Why is it in a world with so many diverse people and various beliefs that they feel the need to openly defend their way as if it is the only way?
As a Christian I do believe in living for God and showing His love to everyone. After all, Jesus told us to love God and love one another. There is no need to do anything other than love one another. It is not our job to change people, convict people or judge people.
None of us are going to have everything figured out, none of us are always going to be right. That does not mean we should pick and choose who we love and accept. No matter what we choose to believe or how we choose to live, everyone deserves to be treated equally and loved just as they are.
A good friend of mine is a firefighter and he shared a paragraph from an ethics class he recently attended. It reads: Equal Services for All. Always ensure that the services you and your crew are providing are equal for everyone on the scene. Never discriminate because of race, color, religion, age, sex (gender), or disability. If you become aware of another firefighter discriminating against someone, rectify the situation immediately and report it to your chief. Discrimination should never be tolerated.
To me this sounds more like it came from Jesus telling his followers how to treat others.
I believe that standing up for our Christian values should be positive, not negative. It is not showing what we are against, being mean, condemning, unaccepting, judgmental and discriminating. It is showing what we are for in Christ, which is showing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. It is showing love to our fellow human beings no matter who they are or what they believe.
We certainly are not all going to agree on everything. We are all going to make our choices on what to believe and how to live based on what we feel is right or best for us. Yet in those differences there is no reason we cannot respect, accept and love each other knowing that God loves each and every one of us. As Mike Warnke said many years ago “if you’re good enough for God, then you’re good enough for me”. That might be a simple way of saying it, but God loves us all, and we should love each other and treat others equally.
It is time to set aside our differences, set aside discrimination, set aside prejudices and doctrinal beliefs and show the love of God to everyone we meet. We were all created in the image of God and we are all to love one another.
Jim Gordon and his wife left the institutional church after spending over fifty years within the system. Jim wanted a way to express his thoughts and concerns about the religious system and to tell why he and his wife decided to leave the institution but not their faith in God. Jim can be contacted by email at: jimgordon731@gmail.com
