Hi Again!
When I prayed about what I should write in this posting and heard the Lord say, “Sexuality,” I said, “Ooh…no, thank you, Lord. I don’t want to write about that.” One reason is that sex is a subject too many people have too complicated of a relationship with. And another big reason is that I’m not a psychologist, a sexologist, or a Dr. Phil, so what do I really know?
But since my book, Hanging Out with the Most High God, Books One and Two, along with this blog, is geared toward anyone in the LGBTQ community who is curious about and open to having a relationship with Christ that leads us straight to God, then speaking about sexuality is a necessity. Society at large and gay people themselves define gays through the lens of sexuality, though they see things differently. I am thankful I feel at peace before God with my spiritual self and my sexuality. Knowing this, I answered the still, small voice that speaks peace to my soul, “Okay, Lord, what shall I write?”
What I heard next rang even deeper – “Just be sure to tell them I love them.”
Later, I thought that was just like the Lord: He tells you something and invites you to come to Him to seek out more of its truth. And He loves us all the same, too, and gives us only one effective way to His love—through the power of Jesus Christ and His righteousness.
It’s through Jesus that we learn about and experience this gigantic love of God. And to benefit from God’s love, we have to love Him back. We do that by first accepting Christ, learning of His purpose, and trying earnestly to be honest in our thoughts and deeds, according to His teaching. This is how we can stand before God’s throne and ask him questions. He doesn’t always answer in the ways we’d want or expect. But by spending time with God, even just a few minutes a day, a week, even a month (though month is not as effective), we understand Him more and more, bit by bit, and we learn to put Him first in our lives.
Putting God first in our lives is the key to walking freely in an ofttimes rainy world under the umbrella of His love and grace—wanting to understand him instead of trying to figure him out, telling Him what He can and cannot do. Through studying and reaching for understanding, we learn in our everyday lives that His love is the most effective love on the face of the earth—if you like rest, peace, and some days of unspeakable joy.
Since God’s love is no respecter of the person (Acts 10:34), I’ve asked why some people think it’s their right to take His love away from others and why some think it’s their sole purpose to take His love from anyone who’s gay. This is what some mainstream churches have taught, with many of those who deny God’s love to gays not truly believing in God even. But they think they have the right to strip Him away from gay folks anyway, doing this with nothing but their Grandmom’s religion as their proof of righteousness? They live the hatred and fear they’ve been taught from their Grandmom’s church or their Grandmom, and no one can tell them that hate and fear should never, under any circumstance, be taught alongside the word of God.
The way I see it, homosexuality gets a double dose of hatred from these people because of the scriptures that talk against same-sex relations. I refer to Leviticus and Romans and the Sodom and Gomorrah story in Genesis. You can’t just give these scriptures a superficial reading and, with the first “shall not” you see, decide that no more understanding of the subject is needed. From what I know, those passages are not to be read superficially. Those passages must be read as a product of study before one can see that they contain God’s warning against idol worship and abuses of power, a favorite pastime for many ancient folks before God came on the scene and warned the delivered Hebrews in the desert not to have any other God before Him like the ancient folk were doing. I recommend reading Judges 19 and comparing it to Genesis 18 & 19. In either chapter, tell yourself if you see any gay person you may know or if you see men full of fiendish and lewd sin. Anyone engaging in fiendish and lewd sin as a way of life will have God to answer to, no matter what their orientation.
But because scriptures on same-sex behavior aren’t looked at from a product of study, to be rightly divided, they give believers and others the right to discriminate, to hate and fear, to feel better than – a preferred state of existence that too many who should know better enjoy being about. Those scriptures are too easily used to chase gay people away from God under the guise that they are keeping homosexuality out of the church. Since God says He loves everybody, who do we listen to? I choose God who has let it be known that …the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen (II Tim 4:18).
I read somewhere recently that even though the Pope accepts that gays are going to be gays, saying that God loves them – which is true – he doesn’t trust that they can not act on their sexual needs, so he doesn’t want them signing up for the priesthood. Just a note to the Pope: Celibacy is a choice. Gays are capable of making that choice, too. And it’s good for them to come into the priesthood knowing who they are when making that choice, as opposed to making the “celibacy choice” because of trying to cure themselves. People entering the priesthood because of wanting to be cured, like men used to do with heterosexual marriages, are those who should not be desired in the priesthood.
And one should give up their sexuality if they are making a contract with celibacy. But it is not right that gays are told that they must give up their sexuality before God can love them. And who, please tell me, will want to give up their sexuality, especially among the young, to hang out with hatemongers or hypocrites who think God made a mistake in giving sexual desire to anyone other than those who wish to procreate? Sexuality is evil to them.
I say sexuality is only evil when it is chosen over God. And God is not going to send anyone to hell for exploring consensual sexuality. Even the type you may want to hide from Him, the type called fornication. Fornication seems to be modern society’s go-to way of being sexual. And no matter what anyone says, we are going to be sexual. It’s a gift. However, God hates our use of this gift when we turn it into worship and religious expression. That’s when we have taken a trip over to the dark side. God can not help us over there unless we cry out! God hates our use of sexuality when it’s used for nothing but fornication, causing people to turn their backs on Him to pursue this pleasure time and time again or try using it to seek answers, remedies, and security in life. Answers and security are God’s domain.
Sex, used in concert with natural urges placed here in the forms of humans that help keep the body and mind healthy and that can enhance peace, and love, and well-being, will get no dissent from God. For animals, sex is used for nothing but procreation. God made man just a little lower than the angels. Sex is not meant to be evil, but in dealing with it, there is the right and the wrong.
And far too many say sex is wrong, wrong, wrong, and have turned it into a scary tale that should not be told. Many have decided that no one needs to hear anything about it, especially when it comes to those sinful homosexuals – a great big sin deemed the worst of the worst. Many people who believe in God love doing him the service of dismissing the topic of sex and its complications by blocking it out, banning it in books, and denying it, even in their God-sanctioned relationships. They fight to turn a blind eye to it all, telling their hormonal children that this part of themselves is dirty (the kids love that) and that they should “Just say No!” So it’s sad when Christians think they are right to condemn after they’ve done a superficial reading of what appear to be the anti-same-sex passages in the Bible. All they see is “thy shall not,” and they never stop to think they have the right and responsibility to ask why it’s warned against when so many say this is who they are.
Many attitudes and behaviors in this life are unhealthy, and some are just plain wrong. As I’ve said before, I am not a psychologist or a sexologist. I just know that ignoring our sexuality for any reason, which can interrupt mental and physical well-being, is wrong. Ask Dr. Phil. And for those who feel they are too interested in their sexuality and sometimes feel the guilt they’ve been taught, meeting up with God (you do this in prayer) and discussing whatever is going on with you is how you can deal with this interest. Some are taught to hide their sexuality, especially from God – deeds and thoughts. And some will turn away from God because sexuality is easier to deal with that way, even if it is ladened with guilt.
Being a sexual creation does not mean we have to exclude loving God if loving God is what we are inclined to do. I am inclined to love God, and I can feel his pleasure in me through His loving and flowing peace, even when I’ve been wrong and had to talk to God about it, sometimes over and over again. Any gay or straight person reading this and want to enjoy their sexuality and a relationship with God – He said, “Tell them that I love them.” Build on that.
Gordon Bell was born in South Jersey where he also grew up and has lived happily in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1981. He now lives in Oakland, CA, and is married to his best friend Jon.
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