Hate the ‘Sin’: Part II

Recently I received comments on my views of the relationships between gay people and Christians.  My argument was that, hate the ‘sin’ not the person, and this applies to gays and Christians.  If you’re gay, hate the fact that someone’s homophobic, but don’t hate the person.  If you’re Christian, hate the fact that someone’s gay, but don’t hate the person.

He brought up an interesting, and very valid, point.  In the Christian point of view, he argued that homosexuality is the equivalent – and I’ll paraphrase his analogy – to someone doing drugs.  Maybe not to all Christians, but to some or many, homosexuality is a sin and therefore will send you to hell.  Hell=Bad.  Hell=Suffering.  Hell=Not fun.  Therefore Christians would try to defer gays from that sort of lifestyle because they don’t want the person to undergo such a suffering.  I’m not saying the belief is correct, because we don’t actually know.  I’m not saying that all Christians believe this or should believe this.  This is just one point of view.  Let’s put a spin to it, using the drug analogy.  Imagine your friend is doing drugs.  Obviously (if you don’t do drugs yourself), you would try to stop them from doing drugs, no?  You don’t want them to get hurt.  You don’t want them to suffer.  This is the basis of this point of view.

This all leads me to a few other issues.  Many times I hear terrible coming out stories.  A person might tell their best friend who would regularly tries to ‘convert’ you to the straight side.  If this happens to you, take this point of view to mind.  It doesn’t mean your friend hates you.  Maybe it means they’re concerned for you.  Don’t spend hours and hours agonizing over it.  It’s not healthy.  Have a heart to heart talk with your friend.

Furthermore, I was very impressed by the tone of the comments.  They were calculated, well argued in a calm way.  There were no personal attacks, no needless swearing.  He simply stated what he believed in a mature manner, with no intent to hurt anyone.  And it was clear!  Reading the comments and the discussion that ensued, I believe I found what I meant with my hate the ‘sin’ but not the person.  He believed that homosexuality was wrong, and that tolerance was not the optimal path to approach it, especially as a Christian.  He didn’t like homosexuality, and approached the issue calmly.  

When I said hate the ‘sin’ but not the person, my main problem is with the people who would picket a gay man’s funeral, words of hate painted on their signs.  Yeah, the guy’s dead, but have some respect!  Have respect for the deceased and his family and friends!  My problem is with the people who would brutally bludgeon a person, or even reduce to murdering him or her, because he or she was gay.  My main problem is with hate.

I urge you to form your own beliefs.  Every man and woman, every adult and child, have rights to thought and belief.  I simply ask you not to hate.

Tips for 2009

2009’s here.  Year of the Ox.  The Dawn of a new Depression.

Big woop.

Here’s a couple of tips for the new year.  Enjoy.

#10: Do something for yourself.

Come on.  Try it.  Just one thing for this entire year.  Do something big that you know will make you happy.  It’s your life, so don’t worry about the rest of the world.

#9: Schedule a constant for yourself.

It’ll be good for you.  A good stress reliever is just to have a constant in your life you look forward to, may it be daily, weekly, or monthly.  Spend an hour writing or drawing.  Exercising, maybe.  Watch a movie in bed.  Or a couple episodes of your favorite TV show.  Believe me, it’ll make you feel much better about life.  Just one thing: Don’t let the constant get in the way of your social life.

#8: Go Green.

I hate to sound like everyone else, one great big broken record, but it isn’t that hard.  Take shorter showers.  Turn off your lights.  Bike.  Walk.  Take the subway.  Take the bus.  Believe me.  It’s good for your health.  It’s good for the environment.  Most importantly, it’s good for your wallet.

#7: Take up a new hobby.

Dude.  I’m a soccer goalie right now.  Never thought I’d do it.  Thought I’d hate it.  Now that I’ve tried it, I actually like it.  I know it sounds cliche, but you never know.  Do something you’ve always wanted to do.  Cook.  Play guitar.  Play drums.  Write a novel.

#6: Rekindle at least one friendship.

With Facebook at our fingertips, all it takes is a click and a couple of keyboard strikes.  Do it.  It’s easy and it’s nice for everyone.  Even for you.  Be the one to take the first step.

#5: Don’t be overbearing… This one’s for the Parents.

First hand advice.  Try not to.  Please.  Checking internet histories?  Joining a forum just to see what your kid has to say?  Big No-no’s.  Believe me.  Your kids will find out somehow and when they do…  Well you’d end up with some angry teenagers.  I don’t want to tell you how to raise your kids, but invasion of privacy scares kids.  Whatever your kid is hiding, especially in a forum, they will eventually tell you in their own time. 

#4: Take advantage of your situation.

Believe me.  Now that my family’s moving on, I kind of wish I did stuff I always thought I’d have time for.  I don’t have that kind of time any more and I’ve lost my chance.  Don’t let that happen to you.

#3:  Start a blog.

Yeah I’m saying it!  Get your thoughts out there, man!  It let’s you express all those thoughts you keep hidden in your head.  And someone else might actually gain from them.

#2: “You’re either getting better or you’re getting worse”

My life motto.  Yeah it’s harsh, but it’s true.  If you’re not getting better, everyone else his, and you just fall farther behind the bar.  But the point of this is just hard work.  Why not me, I like to say.  Talent only gets you so far.  Hard work gets you to the top.  Don’t get discouraged and just try hard this year.

#1: Find the balances in life.

Hell yeah it’s important.  More important than #2.  People will tell you to do one thing, or another thing.  Listen to them, because they might have something useful to say.  But they’re built differently than you.  Find the balance that fits YOU the most.  Balance is key.

 

Well that’s 2009 for you.  Let’s pray for a good year.