Stop yelling at the darkness.
The month of June is celebrated as Pride Month, and while that isn't something I personally celebrate or affirm, I've noticed something among Christians that bothers me.
June seems to be the one month each year when many Christians decide to loudly stand against sin. Suddenly social media is filled with posts condemning homosexuality. And while I do believe Scripture calls homosexuality a sin, I can't help but wonder where that same energy is the other eleven months of the year. Where are the posts confronting pride, greed, gluttony, gossip, pornography, drunkenness, sexual immorality, dishonesty, unforgiveness, envy, and adultery?
Christians should remember that the call to “deny yourself” applies just as much to the person sleeping with their boyfriend, the prideful church member, the gossiping grandmother, the greedy businessman, or the mean angry husband just as much as it does to anyone else. So why do we treat some sins as worthy of public outrage while sitting back and excusing the sins we struggle with ourselves?
Hear me clearly, Jesus never told us to ignore sin that is not what I’m saying! Part of loving people correctly is leading them to Jesus and to repentance. But He did tell us to examine our own hearts before picking up stones to throw at others.
Every one of us has desires that pull us away from God's will. Every one of us is called to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Christ. Our identity is not meant to be defined by our temptations, desires, or struggles.
Our identity is found in Christ! 💜
That’s a principle that applies far beyond LGBTQ issues. It applies to the person battling anger, pornography, greed, pride, gossip, alcoholism, anxiety driven control, or any sin. Christians have historically understood that temptation itself isn’t the same thing as obedience to temptation. We all have things we wrestle with. Every one of us is called to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Christ.
I’ve said it before and I will continue to say it. Acceptance and approval are not the same thing! I can love someone without approving of every choice they make.
You can love someone, be kind to them, respect their dignity, defend them from mistreatment, and genuinely care about them without approving of every belief, behavior, or lifestyle choice they make.
We do this all the time in other areas of life.
I can love a friend struggling with alcoholism without approving of drunkenness. I can love a family member who is living with their boyfriend without approving of sex outside marriage. I can love someone who is prideful, greedy, or dishonest without approving of those things.
Love for all those people might look different with each situation but we should still love them. In fact, most parents understand this instinctively. If your child is doing something bad for them, your love doesn’t require you to celebrate it. Real Love requires you to say, “I love you too much to pretend that this is good for you.” Unfortunately our culture treats disagreement as rejection and approval as the only acceptable form of love. But those aren’t the same thing.
God loves sinners, every one of us. If He didn’t, none of us would have any hope. But His love doesn’t mean approval of our sin. If it did, there would have been no need for repentance, no need for Christ’s sacrifice, and no need for transformation.
If you’re furious about homosexuality but unconcerned about your own pride, gossip, greed, gluttony, pornography, drunkenness, bitterness, or sexual immorality, that’s a problem.
It’s easy to say, “They need to deny themselves.”
It’s much harder to pray, “Lord, show me where I need to deny myself.”
The Gospel is not “follow your heart.” The Gospel is not “live your truth.” The Gospel is not “celebrate your desires.”
The Gospel is, deny yourself and follow Jesus.
And that message applies equally to all of us.
If we’re going to stand against sin, let’s be consistent. Let’s not just confront the sins that make us uncomfortable while ignoring the ones we’ve grown comfortable with.
Jesus never seemed shocked that sinners sinned.
He wasn’t surprised that tax collectors cheated people, that prostitutes lived like prostitutes, or that pagans acted like pagans. His rebukes in the Gospels were usually directed toward religious people who thought they were righteous while neglecting justice, mercy, humility, and love.
When I read the New Testament, I don’t get the impression that the early church spent most of its energy trying to force the world to behave like Christians. Instead, they focused on being different themselves. They lived in such a radically loving, holy, and sacrificial way that they stood out in a dark world. They told everyone about the reason for the hope that was in them. Jesus tells us to be the light of the world. Not Yell at the darkness until it goes away. Light doesn’t argue with darkness. Light shines.
So instead of spending this month focused on condemning the darkness around us, what if we focused on letting the light of Christ shine brighter through us?
What if we loved more deeply, served more faithfully, repented more sincerely, and walked more closely with Jesus? Our world doesn’t need more angry Christians. It needs Christians who look so much like Jesus that people are drawn to the light they carry.
I want to challenge us to look inward.
What areas of our own lives have we become comfortable with that God is calling us to surrender? What attitudes, habits, desires, or behaviors need to be laid at the feet of Jesus?
Let's strive to walk in the balance that Jesus modeled so perfectly, never compromising truth, but never withholding love. He met people where they were, extended grace, and lovingly called them to repentance and transformation. Let’s be people who speak truth without self righteousness, show grace without compromise, and point others to Jesus not just by our words, but by the way we love them.
The ground is level at the foot of the cross, and every one of us is in need of God’s grace and mercy.
💜🤟✝️