If We Just Ignore Gays, They’ll Go Away, Right? (Part 1)

It had been a hot September Saturday at the Oldsmobile-Cadillac dealership with heavy traffic from our advertisements. I worked late because of a used car delivery for a last-minute customer. The other salesmen had long since gone home, leaving just the sales manager and me to close up the place.

As I walked into the sales manager’s office to hand him the keys, a car with what appeared to be a middle-aged couple pulled onto the sales lot to look at used vehicles. Both stepped out of their car to check out one particular auto. They then looked toward the sales manager’s office as if to see whether sales people were still available for helping them.

That’s just dandy, I thought, now the sales manager is going to make me wait on those two people. I’m tired, hungry, and want to leave now.

“Larry,” said the sales manager, “if we just ignore them, they’ll go away.”

He turned off the lights and we left. His words ended up proving to be accurate because the couple drove off.

This is how most of us Christians have handled the American gay rights movement so far. 

And our results mirror our attitudes, in that, we almost always end up losing.

Admittedly, the gay rights movement’s ranks are not filled with a bunch of wimps. They are tough adversaries who understand how to pressure governments, politicians, corporations, major media outlets, churches, and whomever to win battles. They wield fear and threats like swords to cut down their foes.

Sadly, we Christians are not prepared for this type of warfare. We enjoy “nice” fights with scriptures lobbed back and forth like nerf ball grenades in a church sanctuary. The declared winner is the one with the most scriptures to justify his stance. Cake and coffee served afterward in the church basement.

Well, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news because this ain’t ever happening.

So, what can we believers do?

(Continued in Part 2)