This was not the blog I intended for this month, but it is from the heart. I recently received an invitation to an event from an organization that I have supported for many years. When I read it, my heart broke. I have to admit, I am also outraged. I feel just a bit like Jesus must of, when He overturned the money-changer’s tables at the temple. While I am aware this non-profit organization is not registered as a religious one, and does receive moneys through secular grants, most of the staff claimed they were followers of Jesus; and much of their volunteer base comes from Christian churches.
My volunteer role was always in the form of bringing the love and word of God to vulnerable women recovering from sexual exploitation and abuse. I often shared a testimonial devotion about their value to God and what it means to follow Jesus. The women were always so attentive and appreciative of hearing God’s truth, often asking for prayer and receiving the knowledge of salvation through Christ – even if they didn’t always commit to Him right then and there. Each time, I was able to leave their presence knowing they understood that their past does not mark an end all to their future, and forgiveness and acceptance was theirs if they so desired. I made it clear: God loves them, and Jesus wants to grace them with salvation.
Then, upon opening an email invitation, my heart sank. The leaders of this organization had fell for the lies. They had been conditioned, as have many, to believe that tolerance overrides God’s word; thinking when we are told to love, it means not holding people accountable to God’s Kingdom rules. If that wasn’t enough, they went from tolerance to acceptance to encouragement! I felt God’s pain as I asked Him, “how did we go from treating others with respect and dignity, to blatantly disrespecting you God?!” Since when did tolerance for the world overshadow obedience to our Lord?
Don’t misunderstand me. I would never condone, as some have, treating another with utter disrespect and even causing injury. However, respecting others need not take the form of approving of, or supporting their actions, and certainly not encouraging and participating! The “self-interest” groups that have developed over the past few years have become so bold in the face of God and believers in Jesus, that many in the church (body of Christ) have found it easier to follow along. If they don’t follow, they have at least been stunned to silence. Many in the church seem to have forgotten to whom they have pledged their allegiance!
Jesus made it all too clear when He summarized God’s original commandments, when asked:
“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:36-40).
God comes first. Period. His precepts, His commands, His Kingdom Rule. Before you argue that He said that loving your neighbor is just as important, you need to understand what exactly God considers an act of love for your neighbor. I guarantee you that leaving them as prisoners of this spiritual war was not what He had in mind.
“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:18).
This is what Jesus was referring to, when He made the above statement in Matthew. Jesus frequently referenced God’s word when He spoke, as this is what the people He was addressing understood. I am especially interested how God made it very clear who was in charge, when He ended many of His instructions with a form of the reminder, “I am the Lord.”
When I was raising my kids, I would sometimes get so frustrated with their refusal to do as I said, I would answer their umpteenth question with, “because I said so! I’m the mom – if that’s good enough for me, then it’s good enough for you!” Unlike parenting though, if we do things not out of obedience to God, we are doing them in vain. If we take God’s will for mankind out of the equation of loving others, it is no love at all. You cannot leave someone in their sin, by not sharing God’s grace, and claim to have loved them. Nor can you encourage sinful behavior and not expect ramifications in your own relationship with God.
Jesus said:
“Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:32).
This does not simply mean admitting you are a Christ-follower if asked, but has bolder implications regarding our relationship with Jesus. I think Eugene Peterson’s, The Message hits it on the head:
“Stand up for me against world opinion and I’ll stand up for you before my Father in heaven. If you turn tail and run, do you think I’ll cover for you?” (Matthew 10:32 MSG).
So, what exactly happened that has gotten me so upset? First understand, this has been brewing for some time. I have been required to make decisions that have been difficult in this arena. I have chosen love, I have chosen acceptance; and I do not regret my decision to love - not in spite of Jesus, but because of Jesus. However, we as a society have started down a slippery slope that has now reached past the point of no return. An organization that focuses on coming alongside women who have been sexual exploited and abused, has joined forces with an organization that disrespects God’s word and will for men and women, by holding a drag queen event.
Some may say, “well isn’t that being inclusive, like Jesus?” No. Jesus does not open His Kingdom to those who do not accept His grace and authority in their lives. While He more often did reach out to the most obvious sinners, He always told them, “Go, and sin no more.” God, cannot, by His very nature condone sin and evil. His Kingdom must remain pure. While we all sin, His forgiveness is given when we accept Him - respecting His Kingdom rules and try our best to live up to them. We cannot continue to ignore God and His Kingdom rules and expect Him to hold the door open forever.
Will He forgive anything? Yes, (except blasphemy of the Holy Spirit). Are His mercies new each day? Yes, we can always come to Him. If we have received salvation, can we lose it? Not easily. However… If someone continues to ignore God and His word, while living a life counter to all God values, has that person actually accepted Christ’s reign in his/her life? Doubtful.
The outright mockery of God’s design that is done by these drag queens not only goes against God; but the disrespect they hold for women by over-dramatizing our mannerism, should fly right into the face of the clientele this organization claims to support.
Why should a woman who is learning to respect herself be subject to more men who show disrespect for God’s created women? These women are trying to leave the culture that encourages this behavior! A culture that considers these men “heroes” for coming out, while an underlying group is using them to push through their own agenda of brainwashing, confusing and harming our children - the exact opposite of what godly men have been called to do.
Am I being biased? Absolutely not! The very definition of “bias” is unfair prejudice. God is not unfair. Am I being too harsh? Not if I’m being truthful. God is not only truthful, He is Truth. Through the Apostle Paul, God was truthful about what would happen to those who continually disregard Him:
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.”
“Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.”
“Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them” (Romans 1:18-19, 28, 32).
I just completed a month’s worth of posts on what God’s word does for those who live by it, God’s word does a lot of things, but lie is not one of them. That is the ego-driven, self-appointed hate mission of the enemy. Satan is truly the one to blame, and although I am deeply upset that he has fooled so many well-intentioned people; as a follower of the Lord, Jesus Christ, I have to draw a line.
We find an example of the progression of compromise in the Book of Psalms:
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers” (Psalm 1:1-3).
Notice it starts with a person not only being tolerant but walking alongside in support. Then it moves to them standing with (as in protest to those not accepting), and finally the person has sat down right in the midst of the sinners and has joined in on the mockery of God’s will. Wow.
I want to be a blessed one who delights in God’s law, meditating on it day and night. I want to bloom, and bear fruit, and prosper in life. The only way this will happen, is if I defend my King; walking, standing and sitting with Him and His word!
Too many churches have defiled the body of Christ, rejecting His word, and I will not add to it. Nor will I keep my thoughts to myself and pretend that all is well as I watch our society hurtle toward hell. This is not the legacy I want to leave my children and grandchildren.
“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…”
“But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).
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