October 28, 2013

I can't change ---> The point exactly


I can't change
Even if I tried
Even if I wanted to

   --- "Same Love" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, ft. Mary Lambert
(More lyrics from the song appear in purple italics below)


So goes the chorus from a beautifully haunting song, which is also a strongly-worded crusade on one of today's most controversial issues: homosexuality.


This seems like the next revolution, after the abolition of slavery, women's liberation, and the civil rights movement for African Americans. But in today's issue, the bad guys are (again?) the Christians: 


It's the same hate that's caused wars from religion
Gender to skin color, the complexion of your pigment
The same fight that led people to walk-outs and sit-ins
It's human rights for everybody, there is no difference!
Live on and be yourself

When I was at church they taught me something else 


I love your Christ,
but I dislike your Christianity.
   - Mahatma Gandhi


How many people have been rejected, oppressed, even killed in the name of Jesus? It is so grievous to see the hate in action perpetrated by the followers of "God is Love". (Here's a healthy reminder.) These days, it's Christians vs. Homosexuals.


When everyone else is more comfortable remaining voiceless
Rather than fighting for humans that have had their rights stolen
I might not be the same, but that's not important
No freedom till we're equal, damn right I support it



Damn right I support that too: freedom and human rights for everyone.

I've often thought of what I would have done in William Wilberforce's time, when he fought for the freedom of slaves because of his faith in Jesus Christ. I could have easily ignored Wilberforce, saw a culture built on slaves as a blessing, and even cite the Bible ("submit to your masters") as a stand for slavery. Of course, centuries later, we thank Wilberforce, King, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and other freedom fighters who did what they did because Jesus did what He did. 


Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.
   --- Martin Luther King, Jr.


The right wing conservatives think it's a decision

And you can be cured with some treatment and religion
Man-made rewiring of a predisposition
Playing God, aw nah here we go
America the brave still fears what we don't know
And God loves all his children, is somehow forgotten
But we paraphrase a book written thirty-five-hundred years ago 



One says homosexuality is a choice; another says it's hard-wired. One says it's immoral; another says it's no big deal. How can we reach a resolution when our starting definitions are already conflicting?

We can start with mutual respect, and a willingness to listen to the other side of the issue. (As a firm believer of "One Truth" and the goodness of every person, I believe we can reach a resolution.)

Like the song says, yes, the Same Love is available to all of us (God loves all His children). But it's the Same Truth that convicts us all (we are all sinners who deserve hell) and it's the Same Power that can save us (to bring us back towards Him).

When it comes to marriage, the full realization of Jesus as the Heavenly Bridegroom and His Church as His Bride would only make sense with the union of a man and a woman. The anatomy and psychology of the human male and female would attest to this. Jesus is always the Initiator and the Giver; the Church is always the Responder and the Recipient. 

So, now what? 

As a Christian, I need to regularly check if I am practicing what I am preaching: If God is really Love, does it show in my life? Does it show in my relationships to everyone: Christians and non-Christians, homosexuals and heterosexuals and bisexuals?

As a Christian, I will also uphold the original Biblical definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman.


BUT... Also because I am a Christian, I will:
   - value the dignity of every person;
   - uphold everyone's rights; and
   - respect other points of view.


I disapprove of what you say,
but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
 

   - Evelyn Beatrice Hall


And a certificate on paper isn't gonna solve it all
But it's a damn good place to start

No law is gonna change us
We have to change us
Whatever God you believe in
We come from the same one
Strip away the fear
Underneath it's all the same love



"I can't change." 
That's the point exactly. 
It is God who can change us.
If we wanted to. 

=========================================

Full disclosure: 
I am a sinner. I sin in desiring people I am not married to. This is lust and adultery, even if it's "only" in my thoughts, even if it's heterosexual. Sin is sin. God already loved me in my sins, but He also loved me enough to rescue me from them.

Even though homosexuality was not really an issue for me, I know of people who have acknowledged this issue before God, and have been truly and completely changed. They now honor their Creator
as they live according to the gender He ordained for them.

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:55 PM

    very well said, ma'am. i give you my loud applause. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you. Glory to God. It's a beautiful song but I just had to speak out the Biblical/Christian perspective.

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  3. Anonymous7:38 PM

    Ma'am Teci
    i miss you

    - a student from feu-eac

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi there. I will always love the iTams! Keep in touch via technology or we can meet up too anytime :) God bless

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  4. The title makes me think: "The only constant in this world is CHANGE."

    People change. Bading ka? We all change. But the presence of that Y-chromosome is a fact.

    Go Sis Teci!

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    Replies
    1. That's right bro. We really need to remember such facts instead of being swayed by popular opinions and mere sentimentality. Thank you! Keep on shining for Him as well. Glory to God!

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