Christians on hot waters

I tried to get more info on what Manny Pacquiao said about gays and this is what I got from his official website, “Manny Pacquiao was recently quoted in the USAToday as invoking the old testament and recited Leviticus 20:13, saying: “If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.” In the same conversation Manny explained his feelings in regards to same sex marriage which were printed in an earlier article today. “God only expects man and woman to be together and to be legally married, only if they are in love with each other. “It should not be of the same sex so as to adulterate the altar of matrimony, like in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah of Old.” In what appears to be Manny Pacquiao’s official feelings on the subject, let us just say that Pacquiao’s beliefs are not the beliefs, of this writer or the staff of MP8.ph.” (source, http://tiny.cc/2loeew)

I am a Born-Again Christian too. Although I had been on the crossroads of my faith, I know what it is to believe and to say and when to say them. I will not comment on what Manny Pacquiao said, because like the bible says, DO NOT JUDGE… but what I will say is more on expressing our beliefs and standing by them BUT not spreading hate or judgment. 

I have already read a book entitled, What’s So Amazing About Grace? written by Philip Yancey. And one of the common mistakes Christians made is to spread hatred rather than grace. To quote Philip's words, "Christians were becoming known mainly for what they were against: pornography, homosexuality, abortion, etc. That disturbed me, as I see grace as one of the great, often untapped, powers of the universe that God has asked us to set loose." Admit it or not, most of the Believers tend to forget what Jesus did in the New Testament. In Mark 2:15-17, “15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” ” here, Jesus MINGLED with the sinners and tax collectors. 

We need to be the one to spread grace on this world, but it seems that we do forget that.  We tend to forget that the hospital is where the sick go, that the bed is where the tired rests. We just want the world to know what is right and that there should be justice, which is not wrong. But our priority is point people to Jesus. 

Not all good-intentions are easy. Sometimes, good-intentions needs to be delayed. Words have already hurt people. Let us avoid hurting them more by quoting the bible to get our points across. It has and still is being used by a lot of religious groups.

And last, one of the great philosophers said what I think is one of the cautionary words we should take VERY SERIOUSLY. It is the words of Mahatma Gandhi: “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”