We Need to Talk
posted by Erin Davis on 11/08/10 | Twitter: @ErinGraffiti
Category: Sin; ; 42 comments
Has there ever been a tough conversation that you wanted to
have but you didn't know what to say first so you just held your tongue? Me
too. In fact, there's something I've been wanting to talk about with you for years, but I just couldn't get the
first sentence out. Until now.
I think it's time for us to talk about homosexuality.
Before Lies Young Women Believe was even written, I traveled the country, talking to girls just like you to see what lies Nancy and Dannah needed to address. Everywhere I went girls mentioned the subject of homosexuality. Of that group, none of girls were personally struggling with being homosexual, but they told me over and over that they felt unsure about how to respond to the homosexual debate.
Since that time, several girls have written to us here on the blog to tell us that they are wrestling with homosexual feelings or curiosities about a lifestyle that is increasingly esteemed by our culture.
Most recently, I had lunch with several girls at the True Woman Conference. All of them told me that they had homosexual friends. When I asked them if this was a subject that they wanted us to write about, they said, "Yes! Please give us some tools for how to talk to our friends about this issue."
The need to talk about this issue has been apparent for a long time. It's a subject I'm finally ready to talk about. Why now?
Because of Tyler Clementi.
Tyler was a freshman at Rutgers University. He was a bright student and a talented musician. He recently ended his own life by jumping off of a bridge.
In the days before his death, Tyler's roommate secretly taped him with another male student. That encounter was live streamed over the Internet. One headline about the incident read: "Sexuality, Bullying, Humiliation: Did Trio Claim Tyler's Life?"
Shocking. I know. My goal isn't to sensationalize the issue. It isn't to blow this up into a finger pointing battle. But I do want to make it clear what the stakes are when it comes to the issue of homosexuality.
Tyler's story reminds me of Jesus' encounter with the adulterous woman in John 8:1–11. Just like Tyler, the woman was caught in the act of a sexual indiscretion. She also felt the sting of the trio of sexuality, bullying, and humiliation.
What I most want us to see is the way that Jesus responded to her. He didn't ignore her sin. In verse 11, He clearly tells her to "leave her life of sin." He didn't avoid the conversation simply because He didn't know exactly what to say. He didn't make her sexuality a subject that was off limits. Most importantly He didn't ignore the woman herself. He didn't run from the conversation. The result? She was pulled back from the brink of death.
My heart physically hurts when I consider that Tyler may not have known about the loving compassion that Jesus offers, even to those deeply entrenched in a pattern of sin.
Yes, this subject is sticky, but we need to talk about it.
It isn't something we take lightly, can unpack easily, or can wrap up in a neat little blog post. We need to hover here a while. Not because we have an agenda, but because an issue this complex warrants a thorough coverage.
Before we get too far, I want to hear from you. What are your questions on the subject of homosexuality?
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Comments
HEY, GIRLS! We love hearing from you, but feel limited in the ways we can help. For one thing, we’re not trained counselors. If you’re seeking counsel, we encourage you to talk to your pastor or a godly woman in your life as they’ll know more details and can provide you with ongoing accountability and help. Also, the following comments do not necessarily reflect the views of Revive Our Hearts. We reserve the right to remove comments which might be unhelpful, unsuitable, or inappropriate.
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