The many different variations of gender and sexual identity we encounter in our society today are a part of God’s great plan. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t exist at all. Some people say that homosexuality exists to test our faith. They suggest it is here to tempt us, as the devil is said to tempt people, to betray the laws of morality. But, homosexuality and gender fluidity are, simply, not immoral.
But what purpose does morality serve anyway?
Morality is a set of rules that we live by in order to keep society working and flourishing. They act as guidelines that keep us from plunging into chaos. Right now, however, what plunges us into chaos is global climate change and our inability to love one another in spite of–and because of–our differences. If we can’t look past our own noses long enough to see that we are all in the same boat together, then climate change will sink us–boat and all.
Once upon a time, our survival would have been threatened if people didn’t reproduce quickly enough on a yearly basis. On average, people died younger than we do today. Many of them perished before they never got a chance to grow up and pass on their genes. They died from a lack of sanitation and preventable diseases (at least today). Also, they succumbed to simple accidents of hard living, such as being crushed by trees or eaten by wild animals. Life was much harder then, obviously. So, it makes sense, from the standpoint of human survival, that the morality of yesteryear would have frowned upon homosexuality. The church telling people it was God’s will that they have as many children as possible made sense. Any other perspective could have facilitated the snuffing out of humans forever.
But today, the ‘face’ of the greatest danger to continued human existence on this planet has changed? It is us. We are our own worst enemy. There are too many of us, using too many of Earth’s finite resources.
Homosexuality and non-binary genders, however, may be one of God’s methods of correcting this planet’s imbalance. If we don’t welcome and accept God’s ‘gentle ways’, then God will rush in with catastrophic corrections and the ecosystem, itself, will balance itself out. Of course, this would happen at humankind’s painful and devastating expense.
We must reframe our views on homosexuality and gender fluidity. Not only should we be tolerant of our LGBTQ neighbors because we should love our neighbors as we love ourselves, but we should also be exultant in the knowledge that such diversity plays into God’s ‘great plan’ to keep the Earth a healthy, safe ecosystem. If we cannot adjust our sense of morality to include and celebrate homosexuality and gender differences, then we are not only sinning against each other, we are forsaking God’s will.
Ultimately, homosexuality is not enough of a force to reverse global climate change. It is surely a piece of God’s great puzzle, though. Furthermore, if we ignore divine messages about our impact on this ecosystem and the need to change our ways, then God will rain down retribution in the form of increased storms, famine, and drought– and then the hand of God will not be so gentle nor so kind.
Remember, we were made in God’s image and God is neither man nor woman. God transcends our concepts of gender. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” (Genesis 1:26)
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