jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj about choice or genetics, sin or not, or public approval or not. Instead, I want each person who reads this to begin to be a safe place for others. I tell you this because it took many years for my friend to feel safe enough to tell me. He had his own reasons, but what is frustrating to me is that he felt the need to hide this for so long from some of his closest friends. We were clearly not in a community that promoted safety for all people. Who he was on the outside didn’t match who he was on the inside. He was living a conflicted life, and none of us are any different.
God ha s created us one wa y, and we To some extent there is something inside of us that insist o we do not want seen on the outside, whether it’s a sin or an n insecurity or personality contrary to what we think is excreatin pected of us. God has created us one way, and we insist on g creating ourselves another way. One of the most important oursel lessons I’ve learned is to face myself. God is patient, but ves he wants to work with us, not with the false constructions anothe which we try to maintain. r way. For this reason I am thrilled that my friend has found the courage to finally face who he is. He is better for it, as we all would be if we faced who we are inside and let those who love us know. We would find that near to us are a lot of hurting, dirty, weird, twisted — both by themselves and twisted by others — and relieved people. We are surrounded by people hiding themselves because we are surrounded by each other. This is not a gay-straight, conservative-liberal, sinrighteousness issue. This is an issue of honesty and dishonesty. I think God’s plan is to take us from bad, to not-so-bad, to excellent, and no one has arrived yet. Have grace towards those next to you because you need the same grace. I hope, as individuals in the Church, we can grow into a safe place for people to face themselves. I hope that our judgement of sin never encourages people to hide. Matthew Howen, Senior, English Major CLICK HERE TO COMMENT
http://multnomahmuse.com/2013/03/02/safety-we-all-need-but-not-all-of-us-have/#respond
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