What Martin Luther King, Jr. Day should NOT be about…

Today, on the day to celebrate MLK, I was happy to see quotes and notes of appreciation for the great work that Dr. King did to advance civil rights and social justice in his shortened time on earth. Then, I saw something that took me aback. An unnamed high school acquaintance and pastor posted this on his facebook today and made me sick:

Good morning all, today is MLK Day. I hope we realize that its the character, not the color of a person that should be used to judge that person. When Jesus died He died for every person, making everyone equal in Him. To look down on a person because of the color of their skin is to deny the cross of Jesus. I want to be clear as we celebrate MLK the the homosexual movement isn’t a civil rightsmovement and for them to compare themselves with MLK is one of the most racist things I have ever seen. Homosexuality is a character issue. Homosexuality is a sin like stealing is a sin. The difference is we don’t have a group of thieves trying to convince the American public that stealing is actually good and that they were born a thief and that they should be given the right to steal. I can just see it now, Stealing should be legal because its natural for me, at age six I had my first desire to steal something when my Mom told me I couldn’t have it. Then they would say, being a thief is just like being a black man because we are denied the right to do what we want. They liberal would say how close minded we were for calling thiefs criminals, because they are only doing what they love to do. It is insanity the way homosexuality is viewed by some. I hope we all realize that Homosexuality isn’t a civil right movement but sin and that on today of all days we may acknowledge that the character of a person matters, not the color. Remember God loves you.

For those of you that don’t know me in real life, I am a white, straight, raised middle class in the Bible Belt woman. I cannot pretend that I grew up as an outspoken social activist, because that would be a falsehood. While I always maintained these thoughts of equality and social justice, I kept them to myself on the whole until my adulthood. Why I didn’t have enough personal strength, resolve, character to let the world know my thoughts earlier in my life, I can’t really explain adequately. But times have changed, so get ready for an eyeful of my quick thoughts.

  • He starts off ok…I was smiling until I hit about the fourth sentence. “To look down on a person because of the color of their skin is to deny the cross of Jesus.” Well…what about denying basic human rights? Or do those not matter?
  • Comparing the civil rights movement and the “homosexual movement” is one of the most racist things he’s ever seen. Ummm…what??? You need to brush up on your definitions of racism, sir. And you need to look around.
  • The ramble about the sin of homosexuality being a character issue similar to stealing is just crazy Bible Belt talk that generally disgusts me. To say that people who choose different partners to love are “sinning” just like those who steal, cheat, lie, murder and break the 10 commandments … well, I think you don’t have a very good grasp on love.
  • Then he blurs his two groups he’s discussing - homosexuals and blacks. “Then they would say, being a thief is just like being a black man because we are denied the right to do what we want.” I think you mixed that up, guy. But now you’re probably showing your true thoughts on race.
  • He closes how he began, only this time the intent is clear. The “character” that you are to judge people on is not present in homosexuals. But … “Remember God loves you.” Just sickening.
  • He is a pastor. A shepherd of a flock of individuals. A teacher of spiritual things. This is one of the many things I feel is wrong with organized religion. How is this man with his own pronounced prejudices allowed to perpetuate his narrow beliefs to a congregation on the regular?
  • Another part of this facebook post that makes it stick with me even more is what I saw below the post. “[Name of my best friend in high school] likes this.” Looks like it might be time for me to take a hard look into the content of some people’s character, huh.