Scripts. We all live
by them. They’re the unspoken, subconscious guidelines by which we direct our
lives. They tell us what’s good. They tell us what’s bad. They're the
unwritten expression of our life.
Although they can be,
these scripts aren’t necessarily bad. In fact, we can’t live without them, so
you could say they’re a necessity. In the same way you don’t have a movie
without a script, you don’t really have a life without one either.
But, we do have this
funny way of assuming that the script we live
by is the only way (read: the BEST
way) to live. If you don’t believe me yet, just wait until you happen upon a
significant life event (engagement, wedding, baby, etc.). All of a sudden, everyone’s scripts start
finding clarion voice. It seems we’re all convinced that we’ve individually
solved the equation of human existence. We’ve figured it out. Our 15, 30, or 50
years on the earth have generated the quintessential program for human
existence. Bully for us!
It does seem like “script-development”
is a natural proclivity. Few (if any) of us like abiding with tension. We
prefer to wrap life up into little packages, complete with bow and ribbon in
their proper place. No mess. No confusion. No adlib. Just the script. Sure,
there are a blessed few people who happily frolic about without an apparent
care in the world, but the majority of persons prefer to press into an ordered
existence.
When we run into
situations that threaten to betray our neat and tidy world, we desperately look
for recourse. How can we make sense of this hiccup in our world? Where should
it fit? How should it fit?
Unfortunately, it
seems like the truth of the matter is….sometimes you can’t erase the tension.
Sometimes
scripts fail.
It seems to me that
LGBTQ issues strike many Christians as a “hiccup” in their script. Even if
they’re not explicitly aware of it, most Christians have imbibed the teaching
of passages such as Leviticus 18:22 or 20:13. Their first intuition is to
condemn homosexuality by quoting Romans 1:26-27 or 1 Cor. 6:9. God created Adam
and Eve not Adam and Steve, right? (Bless whoever came up with this quote, but it
really needs to be put down).
As I’ve thought about
it, it seems to me that the problem is not that Christian’s don’t have a script
about LGBTQ issues. The problem is the script that most Christians have is unfinished.
It’s like the first act to a three-act play. It’s the preface to a novel. It’s
the first five minutes of a movie. It’s not necessarily wrong (per se), but it’s certainly incomplete. Their
script fails over and over and over again because it’s not long enough.
I think a lot of
Christians feel this tension. They’ve noticed their inability to understand and
appreciate the complexity of this issue. I think this is a wonderful first
step! But it’s only a first step.
Now we need to put the
time in to developing a narrative that does at least two things: 1) crafts a
vision of life for those in the church
who might have same-sex attraction and 2) work on our own scripts to allow for greater flexibility and charity in dealing with this issue.
The same old
unfinished script is embarrassingly naïve. It’s a tragedy.
The new script needs
to be written. It needs to be written in your mind and in my own. Apart from
act two and three we’re doomed to an inadequate and pallid presentation of the
great Gospel message.
If you’re interested
in doing some reading on these issues check out these books:
Wesley Hill, Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian
Faithfulness and Homosexuality (Zondervan, 2010)
Mark Yarhouse, Understanding Sexual Identity (Zondervan,
2013)
Sam Allberry, Is God Anti-Gay (The Good Book Company,
2013)
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