I was interested in the recent court case that confirmed that the law is above individual beliefs – probably the correct decision in this particular case.
Mr and Mrs Bull are Christian owners of a B&B and were found guilty of discriminating against a gay couple (Mr Hall and Mr Preddy) by refusing to allow them to share a double room. Their defence was not that the couple were gay but unmarried which contravened their beliefs.
In Matthew 7, Jesus is recorded as saying, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” and it would appear that the Bull’s made a judgement here.
Although I admire people who hold strong beliefs and are prepared to fight for them, (after all, where would we be without the likes of Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King), and at risk of being a hypocrite myself by judging the Bulls for their misguided beliefs and action, I have to ask myself ‘Where was Jesus in this?’
We are supposed to be Jesus in the life of those we encounter in our daily lives. Where was grace? Where was ‘Love your neighbour?’ To the woman caught in adultery Jesus said, ‘I do not judge you either but go and stop sinning’. Surely, we are called to live Kingdom lives and to reflect Jesus into our community. By living to our values we should then attract others into the Kingdom so that they too can know ‘repentance unto life’, where their lifestyles will then start to match their own newly held beliefs.
May God bless the Bulls, Mr Hall and Mr Preddy.
Tony
