Once again, I face the wrathe of Christians and non-Christians alike. I stand in the crossfire…huh, maybe that’s what I should’ve called my blog…crosslenz is kind of confusing…

Anywho, this is something I’ve been thinking about for a bit, and it has to do with all the hot-button issues: gay marriage, abortion, prostitution, illegal immigration, and plenty of other topics. It’s the issue of Disagreement vs. Discrimination.

I’ve seen far too many Christians, my fellow brethren, fall into the latter category.

Let me refer you to a story I mentioned in an earlier post. A woman in a sundress approached a group of pro-lifers as some sort of gathering or rally, I can’t remember. But the sundress-clad woman asked one of the pro-lifers point-blank, “So you think that a rape victim should be forced to have the baby?” As I said last time, that’s an extremely sensitive topic and should be handled with grace. However, the pro-lifer said “If they dress like you, they should!”

So, basically, you avoided the question, blamed the victim, and called her a slut on top of it. And Christians wonder why the world hates us!

And here’s the issue: how much sex that woman in the sundress have? Has she EVER had sex? Does she let her cleavage hang out all the time and stand over grates so she can have a nice Marilyn Monroe moment? You don’t know? Then how do you know she is a slut?

What was she wearing that night she got raped (if indeed she was the victim and not someone she knew)? Was it a trashy outfit that said “rape me, I want it even though I pretend not to!” Or was it a cold night and she wore a coat? You don’t know? Then how can you say she encouraged it?

The point is, you knew nothing about this woman and yet you assumed you knew everything: who she was, what she wore, and her lifestyle. You assumed that being pro-choice makes you a promiscuous whore. And hey, for all we know, maybe she really is, but that’s the point: you DON’T know.

Christians (bad ones) have been doing this for a long time: taking an issue and adding a whole lot of other stigmas to it that probably don’t exist. Many Christians think that if you’re pro-choice, it’s because you want to screw everything in sight with no consequences. Funny, I remember from health class that it only takes one good romp to make a baby, not a lifestyle of promiscuity. And they think that being pro-choice means KILL ALL TEH BABIEZ! And again, that’s not what it inherently means.

It means they want to choose, and they believe they have that right to do so.

Now, here’s the thing: I’m a Christian and I’m pro-life. I don’t believe human beings have the inherent right to make that choice; I think it’s way over our heads. It’s not a women’s issue, it’s a human issue; only God can make that call. I’m not saying that all pro-lifers are stupid and need to open their minds; I’m actually on their side of the fence. What I’m saying is disagree, don’t discriminate.

If you disagree with someone, fine, but don’t cross that line into hatred. Don’t throw in all the extra stigmas when you don’t know they exist. I know plenty of pro-choicers who have never had an abortion, nor would they immediately make that choice, nor are they promiscuous. And I also know some pro-choicers who are all those things. The point is, when you tag everyone the same, you’re discriminating.

Let’s move beyond abortion. Did you know that not all gay-rights activists are gay? Did you know not all gay people have AIDS? Did you know some of them are even in (gasp) love? Did you know homosexuality does not spread through the air like the flu? To some of you, this may sound silly, but I’ve known people who may not have understood these basic things because they don’t care to know the person behind the issue.

And that’s the problem: these are people, not walking sins. People are people, and God loves people, that’s why he died on a cross, not just for those who would accept this gift, but even for those that he knew would reject it.

And we seem to hold certain sins in a higher punishment than the other sins. I’ve known guys who denounce homosexuality as immoral and unbiblical, then go sleep around with women they don’t know, which the Bible would ALSO consider immoral and unbiblical. As I mentioned above, there are women who say abortion is wrong, but victim-blaming and defamation are okay.

Y’all, sin is sin is sin. Your sin is not “better” than theirs. It may have different Earthly consequences, but in God’s eyes, every sin is of equal merit. Sin keeps us from God, and there is no “scale” for that, it’s either “With God” or “Apart from Him.” So stop trying to justify your actions while condemning theirs.

Once more, I’m not saying to abandon the Bible and say everything under the sun is okay. I believe the Bible is truth and that Jesus is the way to life. But that’s my point! Jesus never gave way to sin, he never said this sin is okay, that sin is okay, oh, you’re okay, do what you want, I don’t really care. No, he said very plainly there is sin and righteousness, and that there are consequences and rewards.

But he didn’t call the woman caught in adultery a slut. He didn’t call out the thieves who hung next to him. He didn’t go into the ghetto and start hollering in the streets about how bad they were sinning. He loved them.

Jesus just loved people. He didn’t erase the truth of right and wrong, he didn’t compromise, and he didn’t discriminate. He sat with people, ate with people, and loved people. And when I say “people,” I mean all of them.

That means homosexuals, pro-choicers, prostitutes, anarchists, murderers, rapists, and even them illegal immigrants! Jesus loved all the people that the Bible calls sinful and wrong. He may have disagreed, but he never gave way to hate.

Now, as Paul said, I’m not saying all this because I’m perfect, I’m saying it because I know what God wants. I’ve discriminated, I’ve called gay people “fags,” pro-choicers “murderers”, and Democrats names I’d rather not repeat. But I now know, through the correction of the Holy Spirit, that I was wrong, and by His grace, I’m working those kinds of thoughts out of my body. It’s a process, and it starts by seeing people through Jesus’s eyes. God, help me to always see that way. Amen.