Judge

"Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment." Matthew 7:1 The Message

"Where were we to blame?" page 67 Alcoholics Anonymous

Over the past year, Houston pastors have been in the middle of controversy with the mayor. The mayor is calling for a subpoena on all sermons, emails, texts messages, and letters that deal with homosexuality, gender equality, and gay marriage. 

As a response, Houston pastors have created a coalition against the mayor, using the Constitution to defend themselves against the "over-reaching" government power. 

Without getting too deep into this issue, I'd like to say one thing: the pastors aren't just random victims of the mayor's tactics. Houston is full of pastors who condemn homosexuality, gay marriage, and equal rights. So, to think that Mayor Parker is "randomly persecuting" them is another case of Constitutionalists gone wild. Mayor Parker is retaliating against the pastors for judging the homosexual community, and using their government provided, nontaxable existence as the means to do so. 

I'm not trying to make this a matter of who's right and who's wrong, but a matter of the simple truth that 99% of the time I'm not a victim of random aggression. Anytime someone is on the offensive against me, it's because I did something in the past that really pissed them off. 

The Houston pastors should've expected the mayor to be breathing down their backs. That comes with the territory when the message you're preaching is full of us vs. them language. People don't like it, and people will confront it. 

I've thought for a long time that churches should stay out of the business of 501(c)3, because they're asking for government audits and scrutiny by doing so. Tax exempt status doesn't come without a cost somewhere - the government will get theirs. 

But on the same token, this all goes to the personal level as well. 

When someone gets mad at me or condemns me or tries to break me down verbally, I naturally play the victim card. I defend myself, and usually go on a rant about how that person is in the wrong. I'll build myself up, puff myself up, and use my ego to put out a vibe that I've done nothing wrong and I'm just an innocent victim. 

The deep desire to defend myself when I'm being judged is part of the inner wiring of what it means to be human. But sometimes, being human isn't a good enough reason for not stepping back and seeing that I have fault in every situation in which I'm disturbed. Whether the situation has other people involved or not, I have a part in it. 

Martyrdom just isn't a reality in America. Persecution, however, is rampant. 

One of my best friends is gay, and about ten years ago he confided in me or "came out."

My response was nothing less than disgusting. Being immature and stupid, I took his confidence and destroyed it. After he took the risk of disclosing very personal information, I made fun of him and gossiped about him to my other friends. I took no consideration for his wishes or his trust in me. What I did completely shattered his heart, and the worst thing about it was I couldn't see what I had done. I was too blinded by my own ego to see that I'd even created any damage. 

And so, for a few years, my friend would "randomly" say things to me that cut to the bone. It seemed like they came out of nowhere. But, in reality, he was still burnt up about how I'd broken his confidence and made a joke out of his honesty. I still couldn't see it. I was a victim. I was innocent. 

It wasn't until five years later that I finally realized what I'd done. No one else could show me. I had to see it for myself. And once it finally dawned on me that I had harmed him, I was eager to make amends. I was eager to apologize and see what I could do to make it right. 

I judged him unthinkingly, and he responded in ways that I thought were random acts of aggression. 

It's because of that situation that my whole outlook on homosexuality was transformed. I used to be a bigot, using the Bible to defend my stances on homosexuality, until I realized that I'd harmed my best friend. I stabbed him in the heart with my words and it took years to reconstruct our friendship. 

The truth is, the world hasn't put me under the microscope. I'm not a marked target. I'm not being persecuted. Ever. 

When I find that someone is gossiping about me or picking on me or verbally attacking me or trying to throw me under the bus or doing anything that offends me, it's nearly always because I've done something to create a retaliatory response.