Born gay - now way all born sinners
There’s an awful lot of talk these days about inborn tendencies,
especially in the sexual arena. Whereas once we judged the rightness or
wrongness of something by the thing itself, today we’re judging right versus
wrong actions by their origins. It’s as if we’re saying, “If you were born with
a tendency, that justifies the tendency.”
Lady Gaga said as much a few years ago when she made a huge splash
with a dance single extolling the virtues of self-love, self-congratulation and
general self-celebration in her song “Born This Way” (lyrics here).
The lyrics proclaimed that whatever we are must be good simply
because it is. And if it is, that must mean God intended it. So our birth
endows us with certain attributes that must be acknowledged, embraced,
trumpeted. To do less is to deny your true self.
There’s a lot wrong with that, though. Let’s talk some general
principles first, and then I’m going to make it very personal with my own
story.
“Inborn” Means
“God-Ordained?”
Does “inborn” really mean God meant it that way? Let me state it
mildly: there’s plenty of room for theological debate on that, in light of
Scripture’s clear explanation of our fallen nature. David, for example, said:
“Behold I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother
conceive me.” (Psalm 51:5)
Paul’s assessment of our inborn state is even bleaker, describing
us in our natural state as “carnal, sold under sin,” (Romans 7:14) born dead by an inherited Adamic
nature. (Romans 5:12) In fact, if “I was born this
way” was a justification for sin, then Jesus never would have said, “You must
be born again.” (John 3:7)
Born This Way
That’s the real issue here. Certain tendencies may or may not be
inborn (the jury’s still out, for example, on whether or not sexual orientation
is pre- or post-natal) but we can’t conclude “inborn” means “God ordained.”
After all, studies have indicated that conditions like alcoholism, addiction,
depression, or even violence may have genetic or biological roots. Yet no one’s
whitewashing them just because they may be inborn.
Which raises the broader question of how we define our “true
selves.” Plenty of folks these days decide to celebrate feelings they once
resisted by claiming, “I could no longer deny who I am.”
But is “Who I Am” really determined by what I feel, or by the
principles I live by that determine what I do with those feelings?
In my natural (read, “inborn”) state, I’m a professional jerk:
selfish, indifferent, lazy. I can default to those Jerk tendencies at any given
time. But who I really am is a Christian trying to follow Jesus. So when the
Jerk tendencies emerge and I resist them, I am being true to myself by denying
deeply ingrained desires for the sake of even more deeply ingrained principles.
It’s a simple choice – Jerk or Jesus.
Re-Born This
Way
That’s why I could agree with the “I was Born this Way” sentiment
if it were only qualified with a brief “re,” as in, “I Was Re-Born this Way.”
Natural birth passes on father Adam’s sinful attributes, while re-birth endows
us with divine attributes to be acknowledged, embraced, even trumpeted.
In some ways – race and gender, for example – we can say Amen to
the “God made me this way” line. But when it comes to feelings, sexual or
otherwise, it’s downright scary to consider a scenario in which we collectively
decide that whatever we feel must be inherently good and should be acted on.
Just ask the guy who I nearly ran over when he arrogantly
jaywalked in front of me last Thursday. He’ll tell you he’s glad Joe Dallas
doesn’t celebrate his natural inclinations.
New Creations
in Christ
Thankfully, though, there are other inclinations placed in us by
our rebirth, fruit of the new nature He gave us when we became His.
“If any one is in Christ he is a new creation,” Paul affirmed (2 Cor. 5:17) that the nature bestowed on His
new creation cannot be satisfied with sin (Romans 6:1) and that it is, as Paul also said
above, a literal slave to righteousness.
Sometimes an unwilling slave, I’ll admit. There are too many times
in a given day when I’ll chafe at the yoke I’m under. But there is a Master to
be served who, unlike an earthly one, has not only bought me but given me His
nature as well. The fact there’s any struggle at all between my natural desires
and my supernaturally bestowed hunger and thirst for righteousness is
inarguable proof of His ownership and my re-born status. And as I think it
over, that’s awfully good news.
Better This New
Way
It’s good news because, much as I’ll hate saying no to myself
today when I’m pulled towards lust, temper, sloth, or whatever, the fact I
resist the pull underscores the divine, spiritual man created by God in
contrast to the fallen man who was just born that way.
That’s my story in a nutshell. The beast got captured and beauty
was placed in him when the gospel was manifest in a redeemed sinner, and as a
result the slave to righteousness will make decisions today that would have
been inexplicable to him forty years ago.
And when sin, a former master who after all these decades still
wants his old servant back, says “Jump”, then the former slave who used to say
“How high?” will just yawn, mutter “Oh, jump yourself,” and keep moving.
Can’t be helped.
No matter what feelings or cravings I may have been born with, this business is
under new management. I was born again this way. I have to be true to myself
or, more to the point, my new self. To proclaim or do anything else would be to
deny my true identity and birthright — re-born this way.
