Supporting God-given Rights, While Not Condoning Sin Is NOT Hate. - Impacting Righteously
The plight of black people and others who suffer true injustice and discrimination is real and tragic. For far too long, justice and equality has not existed for some. Throughout history, steps have been made toward improvement. As of lately, there seems to be more progress.
In pretty much every institution and system- whether it be healthcare, the workforce, the judicial system, and education system, slavery has been cleverly disguised, but has continued. People have not been treated the same. Whether by some (not all) members of law enforcement, or the courts, the prison system, the entertainment industry, and pretty much wherever and whatever circumstances we can think of, some people are continually treated differently.
Not everyone is given fair and equal chances and circumstances in life. While this is true, there have been steps made to prevent and forbid discrimination against targeted groups and everyone else. That is great! I thank God for it. We still have a long way to go.
Yet, hate against Christians is increasing.
At the same time that we see progress being made to treat blacks and others who are discriminated against more fairly, Christians are being targeted more. Is this the price to pay, in exchange for protection and progressive freedom from true hate, discrimination, and injustice for blacks and others?
I have taken note of the following:
1) Deviation from God’s principles and intolerance for Christianity are on the increase. People are pressuring God-fearing people to adhere to ungodliness.
2) This involves people equating behaviors that God calls sin, with God-given differences such as skin color or being male or female. They are categorizing God-given, sinless attributes such as skin color or gender with sinful practices that God clearly calls sin.
3) This brings confusion. It is an attack on our freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and is an attempt to limit Christian impact.
4) Lies that accuse Christians of “hate” for standing on and agreeing with the word of God are becoming more popular, gaining more favor, and gaining legal ground.
5) The immoral agenda continues to piggy back off of true discrimination and the coinciding movements associated with pursuit of God-given freedom, justice, fairness, and equality for all.
God is love and God is holy. I should love what God loves and hate what He hates. I am never to hate people, but am to love them. Violence and cruelty against anyone is wrong. As a Christian, I stand strongly against violence. This includes violence perpetrated against people that are living alternative lifestyles. In fact, I am to love people enough that if given an opportunity, I should speak the truth to them in love- even very unpopular truth.
What God calls sin is sin. What God calls holy is holy.
For example, God never deemed being male, or female as a sin. He has not called being of a different descent or of a different “race” sin. I believe that God sees people as the human race, not even seeing skin color as a defining factor of race.
In the Bible, Miriam the prophetess, sister of the prophet Moses, got leprosy for speaking against Moses, because of the Ethiopian woman he chose to be his wife.
“And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? Hath he not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it.” Numbers 12: 1-2.
This greatly displeased the Lord. Miriam had a consequence for what she said. Ironically (or not so ironically), leprosy caused someone’s skin to turn white. After Miriam spoke against Moses because of his black (Ethiopian) wife, she was smitten with leprosy. Her skin became white as snow with leprosy:
“And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them; and he departed.
And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.” – Numbers 12: 9-10. Mercifully, Miriam was sick for a time and later recovered.
Truly God-given human attributes are not sin.
• God does not give sinful desires to people, and then condemn them for having the desires, while commanding them not to practice the particular sin(s) associated with those desires.
• If behaviors or lifestyles do not agree with God’s commands and principles, then they are not of God; neither are they from God.
• Being “black,” “white,” brown, or whatever skin color is not a sin. It is not to be put in the same category as sin.
• Skin color or geographic location is not the same as a deviation from God’s design. Sinful practices and perverted lifestyles are indeed a deviation from God’s design.
The Bible says man is made of one blood. “And hath made of one blood ALL nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;…” Acts 17: 26.
All of the division and hatred, including hate based on superficial differences is not of God, but is of the adversary. Any hate, including against people practicing sinful lifestyles, is wrong.
What are some examples of what God calls sin?
A few examples of some sins are described in the Bible in 1 Corinthians 6: 9-10:
“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
• Skin color or the God-given genders of male and female are not in the same category as the above listed sins, or any other sins.
• Acknowledging that certain behaviors are sinful in the sight of God is not hate!
• Yet, increasingly, people are categorizing the acknowledgement of God’s truth as “hate.”
• At the same time, they are only calling God’s truth hate selectively. For example, I don’t think too many people will call it “hate” if we describe lying and stealing as sin, or committing adultery as wrong and sinful!
Hate is wrong. Infact, herein lies a major difference between a child of God and a child of the devil. “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.” 1 John 3: 10. Clearly, hating other people is not of God. For someone who actually does hate, this is a manifestation of them not being a child of God.
People have extremely similar DNA.
According to the National Human Genome Research Institute, 99.9% of human DNA is the same. This fact transcends so-called “race” and is enough of a difference to identify each person as an individual that is unique from other people.
There are visible differences. For example, the fact that some people have very small amounts of melanin compared to others. Melanin amounts vary, with people of African descent typically having the most. Blacks consequently seem to be the most hated. Skin color and gender are God-given. Perversion and sins are not God-given, but contradict God’s holiness.
Folks are using the plight of those who have been hated and discriminated against, as a bridge to cross over into shutting down freedom of religion and freedom of speech for Christians and others who do not conform to the anti-Christ agenda. They are doing this by categorizing Christ-centered beliefs as “hate.”
That said, God is love, and God is holy. We are to love our neighbors. We should be humble and not self-righteous. There is increasing pressure to accept certain sins in the name of “equality.” Dark days have begun, and indeed, more are ahead. The people of God must watch and pray on behalf of God, ourselves and all humanity. We are to love God, love people, and hate sin- all sin; not selectively hate sin.
“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13: 34-35.
