I was traveling in my car recently. It was a longer journey through the boring corn fields of Illinois. One mile looks pretty much like the last and the next. For some variety I switched my satellite radio from my normal Country station to one of the comedy channels.
One particular comedian stood out to me. He was hilarious. I didn’t recognize his voice, so I don’t know who he was. I was driving along laughing and then he said this:
“So I am an atheist. I do not believe in God or religion. But I have to admit, the other day I was flying on a plane and there was some really bad turbulence. Right then and there I decided to become a Christian and immediately started judging gay people.”
The joke got a big laugh from the crowd on the recording.
Now we all know how comedy works. Comedians use the ironic or unexpected to get a laugh. The crowd expected him to say, “I decided to become a Christian and immediately started praying.” The fact that he “started judging gay people” instead is what makes us laugh. But there is no laugh unless there is a certain amount of truth in the twist. If he had said, “I immediately started making pancakes” people would have been puzzled, not amused.
Over the years I have talked to person after person from the LGBTQ community who have felt the judgement of Christians. Normally they respond by either hiding who they are around believers, or simply avoiding Christians as much as possible. And while gay or trans people are certainly not the only people that feel judged by Christians, they may be at the top of the list these days.
With this in mind, all of us who follow Jesus should consider the following truths:
- All people have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Jesus said we are to be perfect, as our Heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48) and not a one of us (other than Jesus) has accomplished that.
- Every person is created in the image of God, and Jesus died for each and every one we encounter.
- The religious leaders of Jesus’ day, who believed themselves much closer to God than the average person, were the ONLY ones who felt judged by Jesus.
- In Romans 2:1 Paul writes, “No matter who you are, if you judge anyone, you have no excuse. When you judge another person, you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the same things.”
- There are ways to share God’s truth without placing judgement. And love and grace must ALWAYS predominate in our interactions with everyone.
I long for the day when that comedian stops telling that joke because it just isn’t funny anymore. A day when audiences are simply puzzled, and think, “Why would he start judging gay people? Christians don’t do that…”