There’s a cool (or red-hot, depending on your view) anti-establishment attitude afoot. A well-deserved one, I should say, yet it has a problem. It’s wrong to hate people, even in groups. We should reserve our hate for sin and forgive people instead.

Groups are, of course, made up of human beings. People are the same inside of a group as outside. In a group, though, individual people are not always to blame for a corporate wrong. For instance, I am a citizen of the United States, ruled by the people, yet I am not directly to blame for our many problems. Yet I am a, albiet small, member of the party to be blamed.

Furthermore, it’s wrong to hate people. In Matthew 5, Jesus described hate, a murder in the heart. In addition, he commanded love for our enemies and prayer for our persecuters. We should not have an attitude of hate, but one of love. And the two cannot coexist.

However, greed, selfishness, unethical business practices, and all other sins are just as wrong in groups, too. We should condemn these things. There are wrong things here. Groups should change.

Indeed, if I sell you three pounds of peanuts, but bag 2 and a half for you, I’ve sinned. You shouldn’t hate me, but you should hate what I’ve done. And I’m not off the hook. I still owe you half a pound of peanutes (and probably some extra) and a confession. While there is still an issue, those wronged should be forgiving, but not dismissing of the wrong. Reconciliation is important, personally and in business.

Groups have problems. Some have massive problems. Neither fact absolves the duty to hate sin and not the sinners, the problem and not the foolish. Be ever forgiving, even of AT&T.

Since yesterday happened to be National Coming Out Day, I took the opportunity (albeit a day late) to express my thoughts on the topic.

My number one point is: we should love lesbians, gays, bi- and transexuals the same as everybody else. They don’t deserve to be despised or hated. In most ways, they are exactly like everybody else. In fact, they are everybody else. In one sense, it is as irrational to hate them as to hate left-handed people. Their differences from what one might call traditional views of sexuality do not justify hatred; neither does being a lefty.

Now, about this coming out bit. In a way that truly isn’t contrary to what I just said, I believe that in absolute truth, these sexual deviances are sinful. This fact directly makes the celebration of LGBT lifestyles sinful. While again that does not entitle you or me or anyone to hate these people. It does mean that they will suffer the consequences of their sin, whatever form that may take. That is not man’s responsibility but God’s right¹.

In the lives of our friends, family, larger culture, and selves, these lifestyles do create problems: STDs, breakdown of the family, loss of sexual profundity. We can take issue with that. Depending on who we are, we should take issue with that. People, especially Christians living in sin, can be confronted. We can engage. We can write, like I do now. We can rest in the satisfaction of godly sexuality and permeate the world with generational fruit. In fact, we’re supposed to.

But all that—never, never destroys our duty to love these people.

Here is the point. Human beings have a natural, though morbid, fascination with death. Why does the government want euthanasia? They want to kill, but they want to do it with a murder label across there face. Stalin had no problem with this label, and sported it in gold lettering on every occasion. That should tell us something. Being fascinated with death is a pass time for people like Stalin and our government, meaning, not for rational, Christian, thinking people. Now, now, I know that every Christian looks forward to that day when we die and are “present with the Lord,” and that’s all well and good, but having a love affair with black, rotting, corpses is wrong. All this to say I hate Tim Burton. Yes, hate.

Now you see where I’m going! I know your first thought was, “I’m not all that into death. What is his problem?” The truth is, you are that into death. Yes you are.

Question 1: Do you think the story in the first paragraph is funny, sick, or sad?

Correct answer: funny and sad… Your answer: sick.

Question 2: Are you angry that I speak of death in such a blunt manner?

Correct answer: You’re weird… Your answer: I don’t like to talk about death.

That’s enough; point made. If you are the one who feels “icky” when talking about the natural process of life called “death,” then you have a morbid fear of death. Not a fear of dieing, a fear of death. The correct view of death is the escape of being fascinated by it, either in fear or admiration. Think of it as what it is, the end of one life and the beginning of another. It’s really just another part of living. Equate a funeral to a wedding. They really are the same thing, except with different ways of expressing emotion.

In conclusion, Don’t worry about death, and don’t look at it with puppy dog eyes. Look at it as a cool thing everybody gets to do once, like getting married, hitting puberty, and loosing your teeth! By far, loosing your teeth seems to be the most unpleasant. And if some weirdo dies in a weird way, don’t hesitate to laugh at the irony. It’s a sign that you’re cultured.