One

Dear Christians,

With all this debate going on over marriage equality, I think there are some things we must not be ignorant of. First and foremost, we are called to unity not uniformity. Every person is different, therefore every person has different beliefs. In addition, no one is God. And it is impossible to completely understand God, therefore, when we're dealing with God, there is always the possibility that we have absolutely no idea what we're talking about.

On that note, let's say there's someone named Bob. Bob attends church every week and calls himself a Christian. Bill, Bob's co-worker, is not a Christian and isn't really sure what being a christian really means. Bob is the only person Bill knows that is a Christian, therefore his only example of what Christ is like. Now, this is just an illustration but is extremely relevant to today. Let's say Bob himself really hates mailmen. Bob's dog was ran over by a mailman when he was 10 years old, without any consolation from the mailman. Bob has always had this grudge against mailmen. So, Bob acts accordingly and is very rude to all mailmen, even the one that comes into his office. Bill notices this and connects it with his Christian faith. He thinks to himself, "Hm, Christians must hate mailmen." Now, this is an unfair connection since most Christians do not hate mailmen. However, Bob is Bill's only example of a Christian, therefore, his only example of what Christ is like. If you have not caught on yet, we're Bob. Everything we do is a chance to show people who do not know Jesus what He is like. So, we should probably be kind of careful about what we say and do.

While a friendly discussion is never a bad thing, there are definitely limits, especially when Bill is present. We must always be respectful of others beliefs and never see anyone as an enemy. We must avoid talking about Christians as "us" and everyone else as "them." We're all in this together. We should know that as Christians, we are called to love God and people above everything. We must remember that love is patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, is not proud, does not dishonor others, is not self-seeking, is not easily angered, and keeps no record of wrongs. And if we are not loving people with what we are saying and doing, we are not representing Christ. We often think our opinions are completely right, everyone who has a particular opinion usually does. But before we voice that opinion, we must be sure we are doing it for good (so everyone will agree with you isn't good). Keep in mind, most people are not going to change their minds over one comment. Most people have probably heard pretty much all of the counter-arguments to their opinion, so is it really necessary that you voice your opinion?

If we are hurting people with our actions then we must stop what we are doing. Remember this when you're thinking about posting that Facebook comment or tweeting that tweet. We are not going to become unified by getting into arguments 24/7 and hurting the people around us. We are going to be unified by learning to see the beauty in everyone's opinions. Nobody is the same, and that's a wonderful thing. If what you're going to say is going to hurt anyone, don't. They should know we are Christians by our love, not by our opinion on marriage equality. Build people up with your words instead of taring them down. Spread love, spread goodness, spread Jesus (not your opinion). 

Thanks for reading. Much love.