Bathing the Cat While Taking a Shower
I'm always amused by those commercials that compare one laundry detergent with another. They take two dirty shirts or socks, wash each in a different brand of detergent, and then compare the two items with each other to determine which detergent cleans better. But have you noticed, they never compare the formerly-dirty item to one that's never been dirty!
"...How stupid they are! They make up their own standards to measure themselves by, and they judge themselves by their own standards!" 2 Corinthians 10:12b [Good News Bible]
Someone recently posted a defense of gay marriage by citing multiple marriages and divorces among some celebrities. The person drew the conclusion that gay marriage could not possibly be a threat to the "institution of marriage". I tried to ignore it and go on, but I can't.....
First, let me say that there was a time, not too long ago, when I would have agreed 100% with this person and others who support gay marriage. Not only did I support it, but I was in the forefront of the whole gay rights movement and even exchanged "marriage" vows with my female partner of 11 years.
Today, though, the only "rights movement" I am unashamedly a part of is the Creator's right to prescribe what is right and what is wrong, what His purpose in Creation was and wasn't, how we can come into right standing before Him and be saved, and how we should use what He's given us! Please understand.... I don't limit my support of Him and His politically-incorrect agenda to only sexual activities. Rather, I have acceded to Him the right to be involved in every aspect of my life -- from breaking a 36-year smoking addiction to curing me of alcoholism. [Yes! I said "curing"! I am not a "recovering alcoholic"; God healed & delivered me!] I even go so far as to allow Him to tell me when I can have ice cream and when I shouldn't, what TV shows to watch, when it's okay to play games online and when to fast from them and other social media. I let Him tell me how, where and for what to use the financial resources He provides (it's His money, not mine!). The list goes on and on..... I even let Him tell me what time to get up in the morning or whether to stay up all night.
I don't do this out of some sort of legalistic attempt to be worthy or "get" saved or to "earn" His favor. I do it out of my intense love for Him and desire to have perfect and continuous communion with Him. But I don't impose these same practices on others or judge others who don't agree with me. "Those whom the Son sets free are free indeed!" If the Son has set you free, then it's not for me to tell you how to live your life. That's HIS job . . . . and I'm willing to let Him do it.
For me, it's all about who owns my body and mind. Not only did He create it, but He also purchased it! That dark day on Calvary ±1970 years ago, He voluntarily surrendered His will to the Father's will, and out of His outrageous and unreasonable love for this one wretched sinner, He chose to remain on that Cross and spill His life's blood to buy my freedom, to set me free from sin's penalty of death and Hell. As someone said, "He paid a debt He did not owe; I owed a debt I could not pay!"
But even though He paid the full price — much more than I was worth — and even though I had accepted Him as my SAVIOR many years earlier, He still didn't own me. That day didn't come until 1996 — after many years of shunning Him, compromising His Word, denying Him and ignoring Him — when I fell to my knees in my apartment, beat my fists on the floor, and screamed through my tears, "I GIVE UP!" The following Sunday in the little gay church I was attending, I knelt in total surrender and gave Him permission to do whatever He wanted to do in me. That is when He became my Owner. As the Apostle Paul said, I am not my own, for I was bought with a price. (1 Cor 6:20) And personally, just between you and me, I think He paid much too high a price for what He got in return....!!! So, I gladly give Him everything I am and have and ever hope to be!
Please understand, I am not arguing for or against gay rights, homosexual marriage, the institution of marriage, or any other controversial issue, some of which the Bible calls "sin". I'm just explaining who I am so you'll hopefully understand the point I'm about to make. You see, when I finally came to fully understand exactly what Jesus did when He became a human and died on the Cross of Calvary, it created a whole new reality for me! Suddenly, life was no longer about me, or my stuff, or my desires, or my wants and wishes. It became all about HIM . . . . about what HE did and what He wants to do in me!
Now I'll get to the point of this post....
If you own a car, you have every right to never change the oil. It's your right to remove the air filter, drive on flat tires, put water in the crankcase or sugar in the gas tank. In your home, it's your right to put metal containers in the microwave oven, bathe your cat while you shower, stand on the arms of a computer chair to hang curtains, or use the hair dryer while sitting in a tub of water.
The point I'm making is that we all have the "right" to do with our bodies and our possessions whatever we want to do — within the constraints of the laws of the land and provided it doesn't harm someone else. I won't argue that. But to justify what you do or don't do based on what others are doing (comparing one dirty item with another dirty item) is just plain foolishness!
The Owner's Manual — the Bible — tells us what's right and what's wrong, what's beneficial and what's harmful, what God loves and what He hates. If you want to go against His warnings and instructions, then go for it. But don't blame your or someone else's disobedience on what others are doing or not doing. And don't claim to favor "equal rights" if you're not willing to grant the same rights to the One who created you — and who gave you the ability to argue for equal rights in the first place when He gave you free will......! If you can't make your case without pointing your finger at other fallen people who can't get their act together and are just as sinful as you, then you don't have a case!
[By the way, I'm not looking for a debate. If you don't think the Creator of the Universe has a right to tell us how to live, then nothing I can say will convince you. And I guarantee, nothing you say will convince me. I've been on both sides of the fence (whether gay rights or drug use or polluting my body with cigarettes and alcohol, cheating on my taxes, padding expense accounts, lying on my time sheet, etc.), and I know I'm in the right place now! So, let's not waste each other's time. Instead, have a blessed day and know that Jesus loves you!]
