What Would You Do?

I don't watch a lot of television, but every once in a while a show comes along that draws me in and causes me to settle in on my worn-out couch and watch. Most of the time, the shows that catch my attention are crime dramas ... I do love me some "Criminal Minds" and "Law and Order" for sure. But when I accidentally ran across the show "What Would You Do?" while I was channel surfing one evening, I was instantly hooked. The show reminds me a bit of the old "Candid Camera" but with a very interesting twist ... it enlists actors to stage various scenarios while hidden cameras capture the responses (or lack thereof, as the case may be) of unknowing people who are witness to the scene unfolding before them. I think the show is great for several reasons, not the least of which is that it makes me question what I would do if I were confronted with some of the same situations. And even more ... it makes me wonder whether or not I would be courageous enough or caring enough or sympathetic enough or bold enough to step up and do the right thing.

If you've been reading along with me for the last couple or so years, you may recall that I've been fairly adamant about not using my blog as a platform to speak out either for or against whomever or whatever may be at the center of the controversial topic of the time. My primary goal for my posts has always been that they would serve to help all of you in some way. Whether that help comes in the form of causing you to chuckle a bit now and again (or maybe even let loose a hearty guffaw from time to time) or making a tear or two flow down your cheeks or reminding you that you're not alone in whatever struggle you may be facing or hounding you to be kind to each other or ... just breathe, Terrie, just breathe ... whether that help comes in the form of sharing my own "stuff," my hope and my most fervent desire is that my posts help others rather than hurt them. If I haven't learned one other thing over the last few years, I most definitely have learned that words, whether written or spoken, have power, positive and negative alike, far beyond what I previously thought they could ever possibly have. I say all of that because I want you to know that I take writing this blog very seriously. When I do speak out, I do so only after much thought and prayer ... again ... I take writing this blog and the impact that my words may have on others very seriously.

A couple of days ago, someone forwarded me the link to an interview that aired on January 19th on Focus on the Family's radio program. The featured guest for the show that day was Franklin Graham, son of the well-respected and much-admired evangelist Billy Graham. Before I go any further, let me say that I think Billy Graham is truly one of the greatest Christians of all time. From the beginning of his ministry, his message was one of God's love for all people ... all people, period. Billy Graham didn't preach hate, he preached love. I wish I could say the same for his son Franklin, but I just can't. I so wish I could respect and admire Franklin Graham the way I do his father, but I can't ... and the following excerpt from the transcript of his recent Focus on the Family interview is a perfect example of why.

"We have allowed the enemy to come into our churches. I was talking to some Christians and they were talking about how they invited these gay children to come into their home and to come into the church and that they were wanting to influence them. And I thought to myself, they're not going to influence those kids. Those kids are going to influence those parents' children.

"What happens is we think we can fight by smiling and being real nice and loving. We have to understand who the enemy is and what he wants -- he wants to devour our homes. He wants to devour this nation.

"We have to be so careful who we let our kids hang out with. We have to be so careful who we let into the churches. You have immoral people that get into the churches and it begins to affect the others in the church and it is dangerous."

Perhaps Reverend Graham can tell me just where in the Bible it says, "Be careful who you let into your church," because I can't find chapter and verse where that mandate is recorded. Perhaps he can tell me where in the Bible it says, "Thou shalt not invite gay children to come into your church." Or perhaps this Scripture might be easier for him to locate ... "Church is for the righteous only, no immoral folks allowed." Perhaps Reverend Graham and I are reading from different Bibles, because the Bible I read is filled with examples of Jesus reaching out to the outcasts of society. The Bible I read teaches me of a Jesus who chose to eat dinner with the most hated people in all the land. The Bible I read tells me Jesus told the religious leaders that they were like whitewashed tombs ... all painted up on the outside but rotten to the core on the inside. The Bible I read shows me a Jesus who humbly knelt before His disciples and washed the dirt from their feet. The Bible I read doesn't tell me of a Jesus who spewed hate ... the Bible I read tells me of a Jesus who taught, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." --- John 13:34-35

What would you do, Reverend Graham, if one of those gay children was your beloved son or daughter? What would you do if one was your precious grandchild? Would you remove them from your home? Would you ban them from your church? Or would you love them the way Jesus loves? What would you do, Reverend Graham? 

What would you do?