How this relates to counseling:
It goes without saying that we all are going to encounter clients who are struggling with homosexual tendencies. Instead of referring them because we don't agree with their behaviors, we need to show compassion and instead counsel the person through it. Yes that will be difficult to do if we are in secular settings because many of those practices teaches us how to assist someone in coming out, but I still believe that we can be loving and try to understand the hurt the person is feeling underneath. There is always some way to love someone. And as I have said in my previous post, we ALL have a struggle of some kind. A person with same sex attraction just happens to wear their struggle on their sleeve.
My personal response:
I took a class here at Liberty in undergrad called "Addictions and the recovery process" with the late Dr. Pitts. He was an absolutely brilliant man and I learned a great deal from him. He is a recovering drug addict so I really respected his insights into the struggles of addictions especially since I'm the daughter of two recovering drug addicts myself. In this class, we talked about homosexuality which at first shocked me. But the more he unpacked it the more it makes sense to classify homosexuality as a sexual addiction. When placed through that lens, it hits home for me. Seeing both my parents struggle through their recoveries, I understand how hard it is to resist an addiction. So instead of making homosexual people out to be these monsters, how about we instead take a step back and look for the hurting person within them. I guarantee there's hurt there. And we as counselors need to be much more sensitive to that. The church spends all this time preparing missionaries for their trips over seas by teaching them the language, the culture, the dress codes, etc. so why aren't we attempting to do the same for the homosexual community? Why aren't we attempting to reach out to them and love on them so as to create opportunities to share about the healing ministry of Jesus Christ? Why are we seeing them only for their sinful behaviors? That makes no sense to me.
I think these two pictures sum this post up perfectly:
I agree that Christians should definitely not see them as "those people." Although our focus should be on loving one another we should not overlook our responsibilities politically either. What happens in the court room and law books effect how we can help counsel those who want professional help. However, I do agree that we also need to be aware of what message we are communicating.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely finding the balance between not encouraging the behavior through too much acceptance and not being too unaccepted that we harshly judge. I'm not sure what you mean by "What happens in the court room and law books effect how we can help counsel those who want professional help" though. But yea my main point is that I feel like the church and most Christians are ranking homosexuality as like this crazy awful sin and focusing too much on it. No sin is better or worse than the other so I don't understand why this one seems to be regarded as worse than a porn addiction, divorce, gluttony, etc. Because the church is MUCH more accepting of those issues.
ReplyDeleteThis article helped me view homosexuality from a different light. You made an excellent point comparing homosexuality to addictions and calling it a sexual addiction. We view homosexuals way more harshly and judgmentally than we view drug addicts. What really made me think and try to reassess my own focus and values is the point you made about preparing missionaries. Wow! We need to view homosexual communities as a perfect outreach opportunity where we can share the love of God. The same way we find it necessary to prepare missionaries when they go over-seas, preparing local Christians to reach out to homosexuals should be of high importance and should be practiced within the church. Thank you for your post!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post! I appreciate your concern for raising the issue of "loving the sinner, not the sin." This is true because we are all sinners and some of our sins are more acceptable to some than others are. This is interesting, but true in today's reality. Although God sees all sin as sin, our culture certainly does not. They see an armed robbery as more severe than stealing a bracelet from the dollar-store. Both hurt God's heart and have broken the law. Why are some sins more broadcasted than others, why is homosexuality more broadcasted than alcoholism? It is because the moral culture of our society is slowly becoming increasingly more acceptable of sin. It is sad to see, yet was foreseen in God's Word.
ReplyDeleteI think that people are so filled with hatred against people who are homosexual, is because they are uncomfortable with idea. To some extent this is good, for it is not right for Children of God to be so comfortable with a sin that it is not a big deal. However, this uncomfortableness can be taken too far when it causes the accuser to act sinful rage.
This is a question that I have... When is anger acceptable? I know that in the Bible it states that there is room for righteous anger against what is wrong. However, I also know that at times acts of anger are wrong. I think it may be when that anger no longer has its roots in love, then it is wrong.
I think there is a line in this and Christians today are very quick to walk this line. We must seek out God's heart in this situation, for only He is in control and holds our future in His hands. Romans 12:19 states that "Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord." Therefore I think that we should motivated by love and stand on our convictions, but let God handle the rest.
Klclark,
ReplyDeleteI agree we must show compassion and help those who WANT and are SEEKING help in dealing with their same-sex attraction. However as Christians we must not tolerate this wicked lifestyle and it is our job as Christians to take political action. The nation is the way it is because we have not take a stand against homosexuality. Christians have tolerated this wicked lifestyle and accepted it as normal. God will not allow this we will be judge for doing so. Politics is extremely important if you care about our nations future. Lesbian journalist (Masha Gessen) recently revealed that their plan was to eradicate marriage. This is why we must take political action. Please do not confusing loving them with doing nothing about their wicked agenda. Do not get me wrong I do agree we must love them and help those who earnestly seek help. The truth is there are many who do not want help and want to redefine marriage. God instituted marriage to be between a man and a woman. If we allow this to be severed more evil agendas will take place. We are escalating so rapidly to the point where they have already allowed the first Pro Pedophile group has already been made. They are advocating for sexual relationships between adults and children. They are also teaching the beastialism is normal. We must rise up as a nation and bring this nation to its knees!
Keren S.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I believe that the political stance one has in this matter is minor to that of what we should be doing as the body of Christ in order to bring others to Christ. Of course, standing up for what is right is necessary, but changing the world around us is not going to change the hearts of others. What Christian wouldn’t want to live in a world where everything coincides with God’s word – it would definitely make our lives easier - , but is that realistic and is that ultimately our purpose here on earth? The problem is that there are too many Christians solely focused on calling out sin in the lives of others, but sadly most are unwilling to lead by example and thus end up causing more damage than reparation. As Christians, we should not be afraid to be zealous about speaking against sin, but at the same time, we should also be willing and prepared to identify sin in our own lives and be equally zealous to make the changes necessary to live in accord with God’s word.
ReplyDeleteThanks for you post!! I also wrote my blog about the issue of homosexuality. This is such a controversial matter among both Christians and non-Christians. Finding the balance between loving sinners and not condoning sin is a hard line no matter what the sin is. I believe one of the biggest problems is that many Christians are afraid to speak up about the issue. I appreciate your willingness to speak on a topic that is so debatable. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog as it home home for me because I have an amazing Uncle that just recently passed away who was gay and had a partner. When you said, "So instead of making homosexual people out to be these monsters, how about we instead take a step back and look for the hurting person within them" I couldn't agree more with you! My Uncle, that was Gay, had so much deep hurt inside him from his relationship with my grandpa, that he never got to talk to with someone.
ReplyDeleteI do feel like the church does have tendencies to react in an unhealthy manner because they fear the unknown. They don't understand that lifestyle, although I believe there is no greater sin and that all sin is equal. I don't agree with generalizing the church as a whole, as seeing them as "monsters" and how Christians react to the gay community. I feel like this is something new to the church community and they are still trying to figure out how to approach it. Don't get me wrong some churches get it wrong, very wrong. But my uncle never felt like he was a monster, but he lived in New Orleans where he was accepted there. The church is trying to reach out to the LGBT community as well as going on mission trips worldwide. As you mentioned earlier in your article about the Church in DC by saying: “church in D.C. who meets each week to discuss how to better care for these struggling individuals” Hopefully the church can look at their outline on how to better care for people in the LGBT community that are struggling.
I do believe people need to stand up politically. BUT they need to do it in love or not do it at all. If someone is going to stand up politically and speak on behalf of Christians and not do it in love I would rather them stay silent then to utter a word.
I agree we need to see it as a struggle and approach them in love and create a sincere relationship with them to build trust. Great Blog! Thanks for sharing!!
Thank you for your post! I found it encouraging and convicting. Like you I strongly believe it is important to look at the individual and their heart and realize that their struggle is no different from our struggles. I love programs such as Celebrate Recovery that help individuals fight sin and claim rightnesses through the grace of God. They do not shame the individual, but rather they guide them to truth with the love of God.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate how you highlighted that the struggle with homosexuality is can be related to a sexual addiction. It helps me understand that it is a real struggle for people and thus it is important for the church to guide, love, and minister, rather than condemn.
Thank you for your post! I found it encouraging and convicting. Like you I strongly believe it is important to look at the individual and their heart and realize that their struggle is no different from our struggles. I love programs such as Celebrate Recovery that help individuals fight sin and claim rightnesses through the grace of God. They do not shame the individual, but rather they guide them to truth with the love of God.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate how you highlighted that the struggle with homosexuality is can be related to a sexual addiction. It helps me understand that it is a real struggle for people and thus it is important for the church to guide, love, and minister, rather than condemn.