amendment one.

So, I begin this post with great trepidation ... anticipating judgment from my family and friends and possibly even my church community. And that's okay. 

I'll cut to the chase. I'm not happy that Amendment One was passed today in North Carolina. Not happy at all. 

I guess because I am a Christ-follower, that means I must be lumped with "those barbarians" as described by Sarah Silverman on the twitter #amendmentone hash tag feed... I guess, because I am a Christian, you would expect me, naturally, to agree that the government - state or federal, whatever - should define marriage for me, and everyone else, because you know, homosexuality is a sin, and those homosexual "sinners" must have the government stick it to 'em, illegitimize their relationships, since of course, God must not recognize their long term commitments or unions as being anything of consequence to them or anyone involved. 

There are a couple of facets to this issue for me. One, the older I get, the more I pay attention to politics and follow my heart, and the more I reference the Constitution, the more I realize that the government has absolutely no business whatsoever in the private affairs of it's citizens, unless those affairs affect the life, liberty and property of another person, in which case of course, there would be a law broken and grounds to prosecute the person who broke that law. This includes the issue of gay marriage. The truth of the matter is, if a person is gay, and that person has a partner who they want to marry and commit to for the rest of their life, has absolutely no affect on my legal rights or my marriage. Period. So frankly, from a purely political perspective, it shouldn't even be a political issue. The problem is, it has been made a political issue now in 30 states, and attached to "it" - the "definition of marriage" - are all kinds of protections, rights and entitlements that upon establishment of "it" by the government, those who do not fit within that definition have said protections, rights and entitlements stripped away. You can read more about the potentially devastating effects of this here. In a nutshell, some of the most vulnerable in our society would be horribly, negatively affected. There is something very, very wrong about this thing that some believe is so very, very right. 

And since we're talking about those that are most vulnerable... last time I checked, Jesus pretty much was all about those who were most vulnerable; those that were outcast, unloved - the dredges of society... in fact, last time I checked, he spent a great deal of his time in ministry just hanging out with those folks... the rejected, abandoned, mocked and the lost causes. He continually upset the religious establishment with his message from the Father, doing only what he saw the Father doing, the new covenant of Love, that would bring all men into right relationship with God through his eventual and ultimate sacrifice, planned from the foundations of the world. Folks, I could go on and on about this, but right now, with as much energy as we spent debating about "gay marriage", we need to be building each other up in love to reach out and show the love of Christ to our lesbian, gay, transgender and bi-sexual neighbors. Cause frankly, that's what Jesus would do, and would have done, and well, does. 

Yes, I know what the Bible says about homosexuality. I also know what it says about all kinds of other sins and chances are we are all - including myself - guilty of committing those sins, even some habitually. The Cross is The Great Equalizer. And if that is true, why do you treat this community of people, many of whom already have strained relationships with their families, have endured great pain and loss to "find themselves" and be true to who they believe themselves to be, searching for any kind of peace in this world, those who are perpetually scorned and misunderstood even by secular society, with the same - if not worse - kind of treatment than the world? This is the kind of stuff that turns me off from mainstream Christianity, and leaves me longing for more and more of communion with others who long to truly follow Christ, weigh the cost of discipleship, and want to hold each other up and help each other to step out and be the Love of Christ to those who need to see it most. I need that... so badly.

The bottom line is, I am concerned about the hearts and lives of the people who will be affected by this amendment. I am concerned about the further reach of government into the affairs of its citizens. However, I am encouraged to find that so many other believers stand in agreement that the law itself is not so much what matters, it is how the law affects the most vulnerable - in heart, mind, body and spirit - that makes it unjust. It is about the heart; about the love. His love changes, and we need a lot more of that love in and through us. Jesus often overlooked the law of the day in the interests of redemption... look at the woman caught in adultery... enough said, right? We need to love like he loved, and if that is all we seek to do in this life, it would be more than enough. 

Here are a couple of links to inspire you.

The Marin Foundation

Chicago Pride Parade Reconciliation