Worry About Your Own Sin

Are evangelical Christians too tough on homosexuals?  Monday’s USA Today featured an article called An Evangelical’s Plea: ‘Love the sinner’ by Jonathan Merritt who takes on this issue.  Merritt contends that his fellow American believers are hypocritical by claiming to follow Jesus Christ yet condemning gay men and lesbians.

While Merritt believes that God’s model is “lifelong, monogamous, heterosexual union,” he’s asking where the love is these days.  The old mantra of “love the sinner, hate the sin” isn’t working out he claims.  There’s plenty of sin hating but little sinner loving.

I remember sitting offstage in a  TV studio a few years ago as Dr. Tony Campolo, radical evangelist dynamo conducted an interview for a future broadcast.  I had escorted Tony and his wife Peggy from the airport.  The host asked about all the tough issues facing Christians and what Campolo believed.  Then that host asked for a clarification to a point.  

The question went something like “so we should love the sinner and hate the sin?”

Peggy Campolo backhanded my forearm and gulped a sound that seemed to mean “oh brother” and yuck all at once.  She had heard this before.  I was intrigued.

On the stage, under the lights, Dr. Campolo squared against the interviewer and responded.  “No.  You should love the sinner and worry about your own sin.”

I will never forget that.  You shouldn’t either whether you’re a Muslim, atheist, Catholic, or whatever.