Two teens in puppy-love wander the halls of an empty high school. Forced to hide their relationship, dodging everyone in sight. Constantly hearing words of negativity on how they shouldn’t love one another, “It’s wrong. It’s not right. You’re disgusting. Why don’t you just leave?” The two just want to be left alone. They just want peace.
Now imagine the two girls as lesbians.
As a Christian, I understand that most denominations of Christianity see homosexuality as a sin. However, some have no preference on the topic, but I’m not here to preach about that.
The United Methodist Church I attend believes in grace. The word simply means mercy or forgiveness. Now, I am not speaking for the church but for myself when I say I don’t worry about the homosexuality issue. I’m not the one living the life. I solely believe that everyone deserves to be loved.
Personally, I don’t think a person should be ridiculed for who they love, that being someone gay, straight, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. Children, teens and adults should have the opportunity to love whoever they want. I have no right to judge their life because I’m not living it. I understand scripture says a variety of things, but putting all of that aside, I think we should respect the feelings of others.
I find it ironic that society doesn’t bring up the fact that people text and drive, drink and drive or have premarital sex, yet we find it perfectly acceptable to show judgement on who to love. I watched a video on Youtube that really made me understand what it would feel like to be in their shoes. The struggles they face. The feelings they have to hide. The pain they have to endure. I encourage everyone to watch it and just keep an open mind on how bullying can really take a toll on someone.
Like those two girls I mentioned before, nine out of ten LGBT students have experienced bullying in school environments. Sadly enough, more than one-third of LGBT kids have attempted suicide. In no way is it alright to bully someone into thinking killing themselves would make things better. For those kids that have thought of harming or killing themselves, I just want you to know that you matter. I encourage anyone thinking of hurting themselves to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1 (800) 273-8255.
Your life has worth and people love you, including me. As a society, we should promote love in all forms. Let’s not discriminate. We should practice kindness daily, and like Martin Luther King once said, society should focus more on loving others.
“Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.”
