By now, we have all heard about the new Target bathroom policy that "welcomes transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity." Most people automatically formed an opinion on the policy based on their personal beliefs or family values. Some people then went to sign a petition, advocate for the trans community or even boycott Target. There came a point in these actions that people stopped standing up for their beliefs and started just spewing hate.
The reality is that this debate is so much bigger than bathrooms. We are in a period of change in history, that looks very similar to the water fountain debate of the 1960s. But, that wasn’t just about water fountains either. In that point in history, one thing we all remember from our history books is the groups that were spreading hatred in an already hurt world. Before you starting spewing hate, thinking that it is somehow a productive way to ignite change, remember that you will not be remembered for changing the world—you will be remembered for your hate.
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This does not mean don’t stand up for what you believe in. But if you are standing up for truth, then really stand up for truth. That means that hate doesn’t belong in your mouth. People are forgetting the truth that we should love every person as God does and that no sin is greater than another. Don’t spew hatred and defend it by saying that God called you to stand up for truth. That is contradictory and confusing and certainly does not make people want to be saved by this “hateful Jesus” that you are portraying.
When people don’t know Jesus and all they from see from Christians is fighting, they aren’t going to want to know Jesus. Love is what wins hearts for Jesus. Love is what will make people say “I want what they have,” because why would people want something that would cause them to be angry and hateful? The truth is that God loves both of us, even with our messed up pasts and sin. If you are being hateful or rejecting someone, you aren’t portraying who Jesus really is. Your hate is not igniting change and it’s not glorifying God.
When you are trying to ignite change in the world, remember who the real enemy is. The enemy is not a transgender individual who wants to use the bathroom they feel safest in. The enemy also is not the Target employees who are following policy and trying to do their job. The enemy is not actually Target at all. We need to stop being so against one another and fight together against the real enemy. No one's sin is bigger than anyone else's. This debate is so much bigger than the bathrooms. The truth is that the enemy is not flesh and blood, but the enemy is sin itself.
Continue protecting your kids everywhere you go, because there is a lot more sin in this world to protect them from then Target alone. Continue standing up for truth, but do it with love, and don't forget who the real enemy is.
