Guest Post: #LoveWins

Jacob has guest posted on my blog before when he shared his letter to A&E over the comments of Phil Robertson and yesterday I asked him what he thought of this blog post over at Aggie Catholic and he did. In his thoughts he mentioned love and God and I found his thoughts to be interesting so I asked him if he would elaborate on them and write something up for my blog. The main reason that I wanted him to do so is because people need to stop reacting to everything and start listening, even if there are obvious issues that we disagree on, it is only in listening to others that we can truly see what it is that they are doing and why. When we don’t listen then it’s easy to label them as our enemies and fight them. None of that is what Jesus calls us to. We can boldly speak the truth and listen to others at the same time. I am going to ask him more questions based on this blog post, but first I want us all to really hear what he is saying without automatically going to our parroted arguments on how he is wrong. I will be very picky about the comments I let come through because this is my blog and I can do that. Whoever wants to take this and use it against me as proof that I’m a heretic because I think that allowing people to speak on their thoughts is somehow dangerous, then go for it, but I won’t let you comments through and I won’t really give you much attention at all, but I could use all the traffic I can get, so link me up all you want. 

I am Catholic. I believe in the Church’s definition of marriage. I know that God is Love and that He revealed Himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ and with His Word, the Bible along with His Church, the Catholic Church: The Pope and Bishops and Saints. I don’t deny any of this and yet, I see truth in what Jacob is saying here. The Truth that is put on all our hearts. I also see the missing of the mark on the things that influence us from understanding that God is the creator and we are the created. The same missing of the mark that leads me to cuss out my neighbor when I should love him. Anyway, on to Jacob’s thoughts. He is the son of my best friend, I’ve known him since he was child and now he is an adult and I’m proud of the person that he has become. Any attacks on him will not be allowed through. Love doesn’t create fear and I have seen a lot of people speaking out of fear in the last few weeks. Fear masked as speaking the truth is still fear.

The goal of me hosting this post is to open up a discussion, not to debate the sinfulness of anyone. Anyone who wants to discuss sins, can begin by discussing their own.

Love#Wins:  The Rambling of a Crazy Gay Love, that’s the name of the game.

Love is an art form within our society. It can brighten the darkest of souls or be carved into a weapon against the most innocent of spirits. On Friday, June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that same-sex couples have a right to marry. Love won. This victory for the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, and Queer) community was acknowledged around the world, and within popular culture, the hashtag #LoveWins has been spreading like wildfire over social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. I guess you can call it a victory slogan.

As it related to this subject, a dear old friend of mine and I were discussing a few things about Catholicism and Christianity and we spoke about how God is Love. I explained to her that the gays are well aware of that, which is partially the reason why our victory slogan for the Supreme Court ruling of same-sex marriage is “Love” Wins, it’s not Gays win, or Sinners Win, it’s “Love” Wins. She told me that she really liked the concept and she wanted me to explain further. So, here is what I have to say about it. Now please keep in mind that I am just one, twenty-two year old, single, gay man who works in a cafeteria and lives in the Texas county-side. I am not a politician or philosopher, so please don’t take anything I say as me speaking for the entire LGBTQ community.

Throughout our lives, we of the LGBTQ community struggle through many personal afflictions that force us to question such things as sexual orientation, gender identity, moral perception, and social value. Many of us would say that such struggles began when we were children. It is getting easier. Some LGBTQs of the older generations are still going through these struggles today. The most well known example would be Bruce Jenner, or rather Caitlyn Jenner. However, there are some children within pop culture today who wave their freak flag high for everyone to see, and they are not ashamed. Such struggles create within us a type of spiritual evolution. Because there are not many places to turn for help, we are forced to look within ourselves for the answers.

It has been said a thousand times over again that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. The pains and trials, that are specific to the LGBTQ community, we go though have taught us many life lessons, however, the underlying life lesson learned is: Love yourself. Love yourself for who and what you are, no matter what people think of you are say about you, Once you start to understand this, you begin to gain the ability to Love others, whether that be another man, a woman, your parents, or that Bible thumping Christian down the street. At a very young age, we begin our journey of spiritual morality that connects us with Love, connects us with God.

We may have been shunned and oppressed, and we may have turned away from the church, but we know what it means to Love. We do have a connection to Love. We do have a relationship with Love. We may not have a connection or relationship with the Bible, but we do have morality. We do have Love. God put it in our hearts, and we have found it.

Politically, I believe that we have been fighting for the right to share that Love with the people that our hearts resonate with. In that fight, yes we have said and done some pretty terrible things, but it was for Love. Yes we get angry. Yes, we get frustrated. We have been oppressed. People who do not understand our type of Love have treated us as lesser beings that do not deserve Love. We have fought for the right to marry for many reasons. We want the civil rights of being a spouse, the rights we are entitled to. We want to see our Loved one’s in the hospital. We want to raise children together. We want to show our devotion for one another. We want to be treated not as lesser beings, but as people, who deserve to Love.

The way I see it, Love is the goal, and we have fought for our right to share that Love. The Supreme Court ruled on this behalf. That is why our slogan is #LoveWins, because on June 26th, 2015, Love Won.