“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.”
The Holy Bible
Ephesians 4:32 (NSRVUE)

“A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you so must you love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
The Holy Bible
John 13:34-35 (NIV)

The world has become an ugly place. At least the United States has. Hatred seems to be everywhere, too many times cloaked in the self-righteous speech of those proclaiming to be Christian. I beg to differ with them.

I am a very spiritual person, a devoted member of the United Methodist Church. I consider myself a Christian but I prefer to wear my faith lightly. If someone asks, I share my faith but out of respect I remain sensitive to the fact that many have been brow beaten by Bible-thumpers who insist on taking what the Good Book says out of context and twisting its teachings to suit their agenda. I am one of those people who bears the scars of their abuse. Yet I have nonetheless forged a relationship with God that draws on both biblical teachings and my mother’s lessons as I was growing up, as well as my own experience, and found a place where I am welcome despite the sometimes profound differences in biblical interpretation.

The United Methodist Church has seen a sharp reduction in its membership in recent years due to the question of whether those who are LGBTQ, should be allowed to preach. This was known as disaffiliation and it was during this time that people’s true colors were ultimately unfurled. From sweet talk of practicing loving inclusion they turned to publicly judging good men and women as less than worthy of spreading God’s word based on their own dogma.

I’m aware that there are places in the Bible where homosexuality is written about as an abomination (ie Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13) but I’m also aware that Jesus, who never spoke on the matter, nonetheless separated himself from the norm of the time in teaching his disciples to love one another as we love ourselves, and he practiced what he preached by serving all those that Jewish society at the time eschewed as less than worthy. Unfortunately it would seem that too many have forgotten this lesson. They claim to love others but when the rubber hits the road they are only too happy to exclude those they deem to be less in God’s eyes. To me that is a far greater sin because it goes against Jesus’ explicit teachings.

I recently came across a picture of the Archbishop of Bogota, Colombia, washing the feet of transgender sex workers on Holy Thursday, also known as Maundy Thursday. In doing so he was reenacting Jesus’ example set during the Last Supper. How many of those who profess to love one another are actually willing to show such loving humility? To show by their own example what Jesus told his followers to do?

Long ago my mother taught me that it is not my place to judge the actions of others. The only thing I have the right to judge is how I am treated by them, and then to love them anyway. I’m not always successful in doing so, but at least I try, and I’m not afraid to admit it when I fail.

c. 2026