The thing that bothers me most about the recent “coming out” of NBA player Jason Collins is what is being inferred without being said. Every time he is called courageous, someone is being called a persecutor. That someone is me. It’s you. It’s any Christian.
Courage, according to the New Oxford Dictionary, is the ability to do something that frightens one. Of whom, if anyone, should Collins be frightened? Not the civil authorities. The highest civil authority in our nation, Barack Obama, has applauded his decision and commended his “courage.” Should he be afraid of the culture in which we live? Absolutely not. Our culture bends over backwards to exhibit tolerance (which has come to mean approval) to homosexuals. He knew Hollywood and CNN would have nothing but praise for Him before he spoke. So, for what situation, if any, would Collins need courage?
It is only those who are convicted of the truth of passages like Romans 1: 26-28, who will still speak against the sin of homosexuality. Barack Obama, media liberals and Hollywood icons would turn us into the villains, those to fear. Hear God on the subject:
For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature;
and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
It is not courageous to stand against God and be coddled by a wicked society. The result of Collins’ announcement was not shame. It was fame! It was not persecution. It was prestige.
Mark my words. The oppressed ones today are not those who come out of the closet. The persecution is now beginning for those who cling to the cross. When it becomes “hate speech” to read from Romans 1 in a public assembly, gospel preaching will shortly become illegal. The hostility toward Christians will have begun in earnest and, like the three Hebrews in Daniel 3, we will be forced to choose between conveniently melting into the culture and being persecuted for Him. The Romans 1 gladiator culture was not pretty, but it is quite possibly coming our way. May the truly courageous be in prayer and preparation for the upcoming trials. They have a way of helping us “wait on the Lord,” learning dependence and perseverance. May He be with us.
Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the LORD! Psalm 31:24
