It just keeps getting more and more interesting and perplexing. I am just not quite sure what to make of it all. The list continues to grow of businesses that have been forced to close or threatened with enormous lawsuits because they refused to provide services for individuals/couples who are openly gay. The cry against these businesses is discrimination. The proponents of the LGBT community assert that they are being discriminated against due to their sexual orientation. To this assertion I would like to make a few observations.

First, and of utmost importance, is the extreme double standard we see in these assertions. Let’s take the state of North Carolina as a case in point. Due to the controversy of HB2, there has been a massive outcry against what is perceived to be bigotry and prejudice. Concerts by Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, and Boston have been cancelled, as well as performances by Cirque de Soleil. As of this writing, thirteen conventions have also been cancelled. The double standard is obvious, is it not? Businesses have been forced to close due to their commitment to the owner’s Christian convictions, and yet no form of reprimand is issued against these businesses, bands and performers for their obvious bigotry and prejudice. Why is no one talking about this elephant in the room?

Second, as to the list of businesses which have been forced to close, my question is simply this: why do proponents of the LGBT agenda try to force their preferences on those who hold to a Biblical perspective on sexuality? There are other bakeries, bistros, pizza parlors, flower shops, and auto repair shops that would love your business. Why try to punish businesses that disagree with your lifestyle based on their beliefs and convictions? You have your convictions, and I have mine. Why not just respect each other enough to accept that we are different, and nothing we say or do is going to change that.

Third, and finally, I would like to make a personal statement of belief. I firmly believe the Bible is clear on the subject of human sexuality. God created man and woman, and designed them in such a way as to fulfill His command to procreate and fill the earth with their offspring. Six times in Scripture there is a clear prohibition against any same-sex sexual activity that is outside the bounds of God’s creative order. However, sexual deviancy takes many forms: adultery, pre-marital sex, incest, bestiality, sodomy, and sex between same-sex partners. Am I only opposed to same-sex partners? Absolutely not! As a Christian who believes the Bible to be God’s inspired word which gives us instructions in how to live a God-centered life, I must strive to live according to the whole counsel of God. Does that mean I am a perfect person? Far from it. I am a sinner like everyone else. But by His grace, I am a forgiven sinner, and now strive to live my life for His glory. That simply  means that I will not commit any of the sexual sins clearly forbidden in God’s word. Does that mean I will never feel the urge to engage in any of these sexual activities? No, we are all human, and in our fallen human nature we will have urges to engage in forbidden pleasure. But by God’s grace we are able to abstain. The person who has the urge to engage in an extra-marital affair is no different than the person who has the urge to engage in same-sex relations. But God’s grace is greater than those urges if we will yield our lives to Him.

God is a gracious, loving, compassionate Father to all who will come to Him in sincere faith and repentance. His grace covers all sin, but the sinner must meet Him on His terms. Confess that we are sinners, and that His Son, Jesus Christ, died for our sins so that we might be forgiven and enter into a relationship with Him that not only gives us grace to overcome all our sinful tendencies in this present, temporal life, but will also usher us into His eternal presence when we pass from this life into eternity.