Response to a Critic
I rarely respond to critics.
I have a personal Facebook page and a public one.
With the upcoming book launch in April, the public page has been building an audience to help the brand and book.
On Facebook, I write about the gospel, leadership and so on.
Daily or at least weekly, I will get critics.
Mostly through Facebook messenger….NOTE: I hate Facebook messenger and am deleting it.
Moving on…
Yesterday, I wrote the following on my public page:
“His name is Jussie Smollett.
He got off a plane in Chicago and went to get something to eat.
Jussie is an actor on the tv show “Empire.”
He’s African-American.
He’s also gay.
As Jussie was walking to a restaurant two men begin to taunt him.
They eventually catch him.
These men put a rope around his neck…and they pour bleach on him…i guess trying to bleach his “blackness” away.
Dear Mr. Lincoln…we still have work to do on your vision for America.
Dear Dr. King…your dream is unfulfilled.
Jesus, we need your grace, mercy, and repentance. We do not love our neighbor as ourselves.
Whether you agree with someone’s career choice or sexual preference, the words of Jesus ring true. Love your neighbor as yourself. It’s only when we love people can we present the gospel.
Lord Jesus, it’s 2019. How long O Lord? How long?”
I stand by every single word that I wrote.
Then I woke up to an unknown critic with the first name of Kenny.
He wrote the following response:
“Sir, you wrote “Whether you agree with someone’s career choice or sexual preference, the words of Jesus ring true. Love your neighbor as yourself. It’s only when we love people can we present the gospel.”
I disagree. I don’t have to like or love people to share the gospel with them. How dare you tell me to love THEM! Please stop writing this stuff.” – Kenny
I’ve decided to respond publicly because the issue is too important.
Kenny,
You refer to THEM.
Yes, sir, you must love them.
Those aren’t my words.
They are the words of Jesus.
“Love your neighbor as yourself…”
“While we were sinners, Christ died for the ungodly..”
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only son..”
I’ll stop there. You get the picture.
Allow me to expand my thought…
First, we’re all created in God’s image.
That means every person walking this earth has dignity, worth, and meaning.
If God assigns someone dignity, worth and meaning then we have no right to claim they have none…for we are not God.
Second, racism is a sin.
To claim that a group of people is less than simply because of the color of their sin is nothing short of a crime and a thought from the Devil’s hell.
Having an “us” vs. “them” mentality due to race does not reflect the love and grace of Jesus.
Third, yes – you are to love gay people.
Some may respond with, “But they’re living in sin. They’re willfully making a choice to sin.”
Every single day, I make a choice to be arrogant and selfish.
I spend the whole dang day focused on myself.
And yet – no one calls me out for it. No one.
I spend days drowning in self-pity thinking the world owes me a fair shake.
I love me some me.
Let me be clear, you don’t have to agree with someone’s choices in order to love them and be their friend. Also – be careful in making someone else’s sin more tragic than your own.
Finally, Jesus loved us when He went to the cross.
That needs to sink deep in our hearts.
Jesus loved us when He died for us.
How dare we say, “I hate that person but I’ll preach the gospel to them anyway.”
That flies in the face of the cross and all that it stands for.
My dear sir, I hope my response stirs your soul.
I’m not angry at you.
I don’t dislike you.
But I am praying for you.