Throughout my experience in a secular public school, I heard several times that because I’m a Christian I must hate homosexuals. While this statement tremendously bothers me, I understand where people are coming from when they assume such a thing. A short coming of the church is that when someone commits a taboo sin, instead of being loving and helping that person overcome, the church has a tendency to push people away by creating a negative atmosphere when people are trying to overcome the past.
There are certain things that Christians tend to stand against—lying, murder, cheating, along with the more “controversial” subjects such as abortion and homosexuality. There are several areas that I believe that non-believers and even sometimes believers misunderstand about the things the church doesn’t approve of.
1. If you’re against homosexuality, then you hate homosexuals.
This is as far from the truth as I can even imagine. While the Christian church typically isn’t accepting of homosexuality, that doesn’t mean that Christians hate homosexuals. It should be taken the same as any sin. We don’t support the sin, but we don’t hate the people. It should be emphasized more often that no one in this world is perfect, but that doesn’t mean that we should continue to sin when we know that it is wrong.
2. If you’ve committed an “unforgivable” sin, then you can’t be accepted into the church.
First of all, there is no such thing as an unforgivable sin! If you truly have a heart of repentance and turn away from the sin (that doesn’t mean there won’t be slip ups!), that’s all that should be required. Christ sacrificed Himself on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins, so who are we to say who can and cannot be forgiven when He will forgive all of us if we ask for it?
3. If you’re not perfect, then you can’t be accepted into the church.
I mentioned this a little bit in my last article, but I truly believe this is a huge problem that occurs in churches today. We are all sinners saved by God’s wonderful grace. While He wants us to be the best that we can be and strive to not sin, realistically, no one will ever be sinless. However, that doesn’t mean that we should not accept those who struggle more than others. If a person wants to change and repents, then who are we to shut them away from God’s church?
4. If someone calls someone out on a sin, that person thinks they’re better than the person who committed the sin.
While this may be true in some circumstances, my experiences have been very different. Typically people in the church truly care about you and your relationship with the Creator , so of course it’s going to sting a bit when someone points out a sin you’ve committed. It’s like ahhhh I’m not perfect, and now someone else recognizes it! That doesn’t mean, however, that the person is judging you or thinks differently of you. If someone points out something, take it to heart and maybe try to develop a mentor relationship with that person to work out whatever it may be. People understand that we’re not all perfect, that we do mess up, but they do want the best for you and will typically help with whatever it may be.
5. If someone isn’t able to attend Sunday worship, he or she can’t be a Christian.
While we are called to fellowship together with other believers, it isn’t a worship service that saves us. Many people, unfortunately, can’t get out of working on Sunday mornings or during other services, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have a relationship with the Father. It’s an amazing thing to be able to attend Sunday worship, but someone shouldn’t be looked down upon if he or she is unable to be there every single Sunday and Wednesday for a lifetime.
