Blurred Vision

The latest news about World Vision reminded me of a story someone told me when I was much younger:

In the late 1950s, a man in a tiny neighborhood owned a grocery. He was quite happy serving the local folks -- folks like Mr. Traub, and Mrs. O'Neil, and the York family. Fine, upstanding patrons. But, in the 1960s, there appeared another group of customers -- men and women who did not look, or sound, or even carry themselves in the same way a the old man's usual guests. These folks were dark and fearsome. They asked for items he'd never heard of before. The the grocer soon began to believe their strange ways could not be trusted. Desperate to protect his livelihood, he decided he could not serve these new customers in his store, and he closed his doors to them. But, Mrs. O'Neil lived next door to Mr. Parker, the dark man, and she thought he was very kind as she watched him help the neighborhood children climb the walnut tree in his front yard. And, Mr. Traub loved watching the happy Coleman children as they danced in the rain, their black faces turned to the gray skies. And the Yorks breathed in deeply the delicious smells coming from the Gaines family's home, and curious of the differences between them, found any excuse to strike up friendly conversation and perhaps, sample the life of this contented family. Soon, the townspeople found the grocer had refused to serve the dear ones they had come to know as neighbors and friends. Embarrassed and offended, the Traubs, the Yorks, the O'Neils, and many others decided they had no other choice but to boycott the small grocery. It was only a few months before the grocer lost his store; with no customers, of any skin color, he was forced to close his doors.

World Vision, a self-described "Christian humanitarian organization," has decided they should employ homosexuals who are in a legal same-sex marriage. The powers that be are concerned the prohibition of homosexual marriages in Christian circles is tearing the church apart, and they refuse to "jump into the fight on one side or another." Call me crazy, but isn't choosing to allow something, when you have the absolute power to disallow it, endorsing it? "We don't want to make waves, so we'll go with the flow," is accepting the direction the tide pulls you, not standing on your own two feet. And didn't Jesus warn us that devotion to Him would turn one against another? Truth brings conflict. To look after your own comfort first and foremost, is to deny Christ

Back to the previous anecdote. The grocer acted out of fear and ignorance. He acted rashly and wrongfully. But this was America -- he had a right to be wrong, and an obligation to pay the price. The townspeople however, despite any inconvenience or backlash, stood in love and biblical wisdom, whether they knew it or not. They didn't burn down the bodega, or paint hateful names on his doors. they chose not to support, or allow, or employ such a person. This was America -- they had a right to be right, and an obligation to stand up for what was right.