When I read this article just a few moments ago, I think I saw red for a brief flash of seconds. Seriously. I mean, SERIOUSLY. Refusing to do business with gay people...and saying that you're doing so for Christ??? May I please disown those folks from the brotherhood of Christians? Because if you read your Bible, the Lord Jesus Christ sought out society's outcasts and He spurned the so-called religious folks of the day!
What a shame. What a bloomin' SHAME. Because not only have these people ruined a perfectly good opportunity to show the love of Jesus to some clients, they have also made all us other Christians look bad. Once again. Okay, they are going into my file where the likes of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson belong.
Dangit, I need to calm down.
About Me
- Becky
- Anglophilic, bibliophilic, shopaholic, quasi-single 30-something. I love my family, friends, and hometown. I'm an editor and a someday writer. I'm a Christian but very wary of many who supposedly share my faith. I'm an apartment-dweller and a daily commuter. I'm seeking out new paths but hanging on tightly to my roots.
4 comments:
:shock, dismay and frustration:
I second your motions Becky.
Hmm I'm not sure I agree with your frustration. I think there is a difference between ministering to someone and working for someone. I'm not sure if it was wise on their part to openly give the reason for why they didn't want to do business with the couple, but it is their right to do so. If I had my own business, I think I would reserve the right to choose my clients as well. While I personally wouldn't have a problem with working for a gay couple, I would never design something that promoted homosexuality (or abortion, or any other issue I take a strong stance against). As for Jesus, He sought out the sinners to minister to them - and I do think it's important that we follow His example and don't discriminate against those who we minister to. However, I do believe that doing business doesn't necessarily fall in the same category, although I think there could have been a better approach taken by the landscaping company.
Wow, your friend Ashley summed up my exact thoughts on the matter. I do agree that they should have used a little more tact when explaining to the couple why they would not take the job. In handling the situation the way that they did, they were asking for trouble.
I also think those threats that came pouring in on their website were completely uncalled for. It was very cruel to threaten their children so harshly as well. The children had nothing to do with what their parents chose to do. The people who did the threatening were far more out of line than those who did the discriminating, in my opinion.
I feel so strongly on this matter I probably shouldn't even be commenting on my own post. However, I disagree with you Ashley, with much respect. Should business and ministry be so different for a Christian? Should we not be seeking every opportunity we have to tell others of the love of Jesus? And honestly, who needs to hear that more than our homosexual neighbors? I would have jumped at that opportunity, rather than running away from it. I'm utterly disappointed in those particular Christians who support that action. I agree with Aimee in that it's downright disgusting that the landscapers' children were threatened. But see, that's how the world reacts. And that's why Christians are called to a higher standard -- to be the salt and light in this world, and not to hunker down into our holy huddles and turn up our noses to the ugly sins of our neighbors. We're called to take the Gospel to the world -- not just the starving pagan child in a third-world country, but also to the confused, hurt, lonely person down the street who is caught up in immorality and perversion and just needs the light of Jesus!!! To me, those landscapers should be using their business as a tool for ministry, not separating their ministry from their business. The mission field isn't somewhere far away, it's our neighbors, coworkers, clients. I would certainly turn away business if that business had the potential to compromise my testimony; however, that was simply not the case here. It was a landscaping job, and in my mind, a missed opportunity and an absolute shame to the call of Christianity.
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