Judge not, lest thou be judged

Editor: For the past few weeks I have been reading articles by Joe on the issue of homosexuality and last week I read one by Dave that almost brought tears to my eyes because it seems like he has been condemned to a life of loneliness because of a lifestyle that he did NOT choose for himself at all.{{more}} I am sure that Joe is pretty lonely also but I think he is also very angry with society for treating him unfairly because of a lifestyle he did NOT choose either. And I understand so much how these guys feel and my heart certainly goes out to them. They probably feel like someone who is being discriminated against for being black or something else that you did not choose.
I am a teacher and I have had to teach so many different types of children. There is a wonderful 15-year-old boy who I have the privilege of teaching. He is an excellent student. He is well behaved and is a straight “A” student. He is active in school and church and I pray everyday that I had more students like him. But there is one PROBLEM…. All the other kids tease him so much because he is not like them. I mean, he is always neat and clean and they all think he is gay. Truthfully, I doubt whether or not this student even knows exactly what being “gay” means but everyone looks at him and belittles him for what they perceive him to be.
One day I saw this child crying all by himself and I decided to talk to him. He explained to me that he felt like taking his own life because he was so sad and lonely. I was rather shocked that he was having such thoughts because I think he is a wonderful individual. All he wants to do is be NORMAL, but it is difficult when he has been branded so early in life.
I asked him how he feels when the other students call him nasty names and he admitted to me that he has never been intimate with another guy but he does see other guys and have warm feelings for them. He tearfully explained to me that when he sees certain boys he has a special likeness for them and not for any girls at all. He obviously does not want to be this way and he can’t explain why he has these feelings. He only knows this is NATURAL TO HIM.
This poor child and many more like him, I am sure, are condemned to a life of misery because of something they did NOT choose. This wonderful child is going to grow up confused and like an outcast because society is so harsh on people who are gay. If he does not take his own life first, he will grow up to be just as angry as Joe and rightly so because people in society who are supposed to be leaders and Christ-like and caregivers look down their noses at people who are DIFFERENT.
Instead of trying to help and understand people like this there are so many people who hate them, stand at a respectable distance, point the Bible at them and make their lives a living hell. I don’t think that Joe is hurting anyone, neither is he forcing his sexuality on anyone. He simply wants to live in society and experience all the rights that everyone else has. Is that so wrong? Do you really think that Joe hates himself so much that he chooses a lifestyle that makes his whole life pure misery? I am not gay but I think I have enough humanity to understand how a person like him feels every day.
So Mr. Palmer and Miss Richards and those like you, instead of wanting to burn all gays why don’t you be a bit more understanding? The Bible is a wonderful guide to live by, but some really scary things happened in biblical times. God struck down people dead who did a little thing as telling a lie. He burnt whole societies for practising sin; all forms of sin. He left his own people in the wilderness for years for not being obedient. Ladies were stoned to death for having sex before marriage and so many other forms of punishment were dished out to people.
But we are not living in those days anymore. Christ came and showed us how to love, like the way he loved the prostitute he found at the well. He did not condemn her; he helped her and yes he loves her as much as he loved his 12 disciples.
So, instead of lauding the Bible over their heads and making them feel worse than they are already feeling, why don’t you stretch out a hand and help them find some solution. It is obvious that some homosexuals were born that way. Look around you, there are several people born with all sorts of mental and physical deformities. Will you laugh at a person who was born with a funny voice or without a leg or born with both male and female sex organs? (And yes, there are people born with both male and female sex organs.) Your holier-than-thou attitude only proves that you are not much of a Christian as you claim to be. What about LOVE and understanding and patience?
Please, can we stop the condemning, the name-calling and the ridiculing of people, try to understand one another and be a little more tolerant and patient? I have a few homosexual friends who I know did not choose this lifestyle. They have tried everything to change themselves: church, marriage, counselling, everything, but they are still gay and confused. So to Palmer, Richards and all the others like you, if you know of anything that can help, please, I beg of you, come forth and help. We all have to live together.

A Friend Of All