A mountain out of a molehill?

A little over a week ago, World Vision reversed its decision to accept employees in same-sex marriages. It is no surprise this decision came after massive protest on the part of the largely right-winged evangelical church. I agree with many in that World Vision did what needed to be done for the sake of those who stood to loose their support, namely children. However, as the conservative church breathes a sigh of relief for having dodged a bullet, those already alienated from this same part of the church, namely the LGBTQ community, are left to feel even more unwelcome.

The message is clear - many whom call themselves Christians would use children as hostages to get their way. And what way is that? To not allow members of the LGBTQ community to help take care of orphans. This is shameful and full of hate. For this reason, I will continue to speak about this travesty.

Many of my fellow Christians would rather I leave this alone as many people and groups weighed in before the decision was made. These people might even say I am making a mountain out of a molehill as far more children will benefit from the continued support of World Vision due to their reversal decision. How many persons are really affected anyhow by the decision to exclude members of the LGBTQ community? If they make up between 1 and 10% of the population depending on the data you look at, then World Vision is not excluding that many people. Some Christians would rather we just leave this topic alone and focus on other, more important, issues within the church such as poverty and evangelism. That is worth consideration.

Consider the fact that very few verses deal with same-sex intimacy. Of the 30 thousand plus verses in the Bible, only 8 or 9 can be said to have anything to do with homosexuality. And yet the conservative church screamed out in "defense of the Gospel" in response to World Vision's decision to include the LGBTQ Community in their work. Who's making a mountain out of a molehill?

Okay, let's deal with poverty. Scripture is very clear about feeding and clothing those in need. This is a real problem and we can all agree on helping the poor - right? Think again. Many of the same people that oppose including the LGBTQ community oppose change that would benefit the poor including raising the minimum wage, extending unemployment benefits and providing health insurance for all.

In my opinion, this is not about making a mountain out of a molehill. Rather, the emotions and conflict come when we step outside of our comfort zone. People may say "everyone is welcome" when it comes to attending church, but there's still a special place for the LGBTQ community. Many churches are uncomfortable with them teaching Sunday School, serving on the elder board, singing in the choir, and they certainly wouldn't approve of two members of the same sex showing affection in a church service let alone recognize or perform their marriage. We may sing songs with tears in our eyes about taking care of the orphans on Sunday morning, but scream about unfair taxation when legislation is proposed to help them. We may be all for sponsoring a child through an organization such as World Vision, but only if they don't challenge our comfort zone. In short, we are willing to be "Christ-like" when it fits within our cultural understanding of right and wrong even though scripture tells us to trust in the Lord with all of our heart and not to lean on our own understanding.

I realize my words won't mean much to those that don't share my opinion. I would not have listened either some years ago. I get it. Sometimes, change requires a personal connection to those that are hurt.