A Lesbian’s Eyes Opened: ‘You Don’t Hate Us!’
“Projections have shown that if current trends continue, half of all gay and bisexual men will be HIV-positive by age 50,” The Wall Street Journal reported last week.
This jaw-dropping revelation is based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest assessment of the homosexual lifestyle. The WSJ report further warns: “Gay and bisexual men represent an estimated 2 percent of the U.S. population but more than half of all people living with HIV and 66 percent of new HIV infections. They are the only population group in the United States for which HIV infections are rising.”
What do you say of an adult or adults who, for selfish political reasons, encourage sexually confused children to adopt a sex-centric identity and lifestyle laced with a 50-50 chance of HIV infection? I’d say they’re guilty of child abuse. Adults are supposed to protect children from touching the red-hot stove, not push their face down on it.
This is true hate.
Scripture admonishes, “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Unnatural behaviors beget natural consequences. It is hateful to promote a sin-centered lifestyle to children, to anyone for that matter, which leads to disease, death and, unless repented of, eternal separation from God.
It bears repeating: “[H]alf of all gay and bisexual men will be HIV-positive by age 50.”
The wages of sin is death.
Yet in today’s upside-down world, it is we who are disingenuously accused of “hate”—those of us who remain compassionate and bold enough to warn our fellow fallen human beings of the spiritual, emotional and, yes, even the physical death that comes as a natural consequence of unnatural behaviors. A toxic cloud of political correctness distorts reality, choking off any honest appraisal of these self-destructive sexual behaviors. We truly live in a dark age that calls evil good and good evil.
Homosexual conduct is always sin. It always has been. It always will be. It is never good, healthy, normal or natural.
The wages of sin is death.
I’m honored to say that I’m one of those “haters” called by God to sound the alarm. While folks do send me positive and encouraging notes on a regular basis, I likewise receive a steady stream of hate mail—chiefly when I write (or speak) on the issues of marriage, God’s moral law and His natural order for human sexuality.
While the positive correspondence is always heartening, it is, believe it or not, the nasty stuff—the uglier the better—that especially lifts my spirits. Christ’s promises are true: “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake” (Matt. 5:11).
When God calls you to be an instrument of His truth, the biblical harmonies you play will often strike sour with those in rebellion against Him, sending them into blind rage and deep denial. This is a spiritual battle as old as time itself. It is between good and evil. It is sublimely humbling to be used of God in this way. All we, all you, can do as faithful Christians is to speak truth in love and pray that those truths plant a seed that bears fruit in the hardened hearts of lost souls.
I have seen this happen many times.
One example occurred in October 2009. I was keynoting a fund raiser for the pro-family group Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH) in suburban Chicago.
Outside the event, and watched closely by police, was a mob of angry “LGBT” protesters. A young woman who claimed to be with the press was present at the banquet. It was quickly discovered that she was actually with the mob outside and had somehow managed to sneak in. Rather than kick her out, Peter LaBarbera, founder of Americans for Truth, asked her to stay and join us for the banquet. He requested only that she put away her video camera, which she did.
This young woman, who identified as a lesbian, sat at a table with some of the most loving and godly women I know. They showed her the love of Christ. Among them was Sandy Rios, my dear friend, Fox News contributor and AFR talk radio host.
After I gave my remarks, this young lady—we’ll call her Marie to protect her from being hanged for high treason by the “equality” crowd—rushed over to me with tears in her eyes. “They lied!” she exclaimed of the protest organizers outside. “You don’t hate us. You don’t hate me. You really do care. And you’re funny!” she added of some of the humor I typically, though not always successfully, weave into my writing and speaking.
“I’ll admit it,” she continued. “What you said was hard to hear. But they lied to me. You don’t hate anyone.”
A number of us then prayed for this priceless daughter of God the Father. She stayed around and visited with us until well after the event ended. Sandy Rios and I then walked her out, where we were greeted with scowls and profanity-laden taunts by the activists outside.
“What are you doing with them!” demanded one of the protesters of our new friend. To even my surprise, she ignored them, reached over and gave me a big hug.
She saw that we loved her. She saw that Christ, in us, loved her. He died for our sins, her sins, and for the sins of each of her fellow protesters.
We learned that her friends, her ride home, had abandoned her and, as I recall, Sandy drove her home that night, continuing to minister to her along the way and for some time thereafter.
Yes, they lied. We don’t hate you.
This is the true face of the vast majority of so-called “anti-gay” Christians. This story is but a microcosm for the larger movement.
It is truth.
And it is love.
But sadly, truth is hate to those who hate truth.
To you homosexual activists, I say this: We will not be daunted. We will not be intimidated. We will never quit.
We do this in obedience to the Holy Spirit.
As He did before us, we are going to love you.
But, as did He, we are also going to tell you the truth.
And we’re going to do it whether you like it or not.
Matt Barber is founder and editor-in-chief of BarbWire.com. He is an author, columnist, cultural analyst and an attorney concentrating in constitutional law. Having retired as an undefeated heavyweight professional boxer, Matt has taken his fight from the ring to the culture war. (Follow Matt on Twitter: @jmattbarber).
