Gay Son?

Dear Victorious,

Our adult son recently told us that he is gay. We are devastated. We've always been a church-going family and didn't raise him this way. He says he can't help it and that God made him this way. I've done some research on-line and found reference to a some study that shows gay men have different genes or something that makes it a genetic issue. What's the truth here?

C.L. - Middlefield Heights

Dear C.L.,

First of all, I'm sorry for your pain. And I applaud your decision to seek the truth instead of just react to the circumstances. That's very wise of you!

The truth starts in the Bible, of course. Genesis tells us that God made man in His own image. That means we are spiritual beings, without sexuality. Then we were assigned physical bodies to reside in during our time on this earth. Those bodies are to serve us. Unfortunately, they are animalistic and try to control us instead. They have voracious appetites for food, sex, entertainment, physical pleasure etc. They have extreme aversions to pain, adversity, suffering and other matters. Note that none of these things they lust after or run from are spiritual things. Rather they are matters of the flesh. And that has been mankind's problem for centuries.

God did not make anyone gay. He has asked us though, to inhabit bodies that are sinful and selfish. We are to take charge over them and be served by them. We are not to be defined by their whims. Someone who thinks he or she is a homosexual is simply suffering from a case of ignorance. (I know that sounds mean, but it's the truth!) They have simply been deceived into thinking that a temptation to do what God forbids can define them.

I'm aware of the studies and theories that sexual orientation is genetic and that differences in the brains of gay men have been detected in such studies. I'm also aware that similar studies have tried to explain alcoholism, obesity and other perversions of the flesh. They are the world's flawed answer to problems that are truly spiritual in nature.

Your son is not gay. But he is terribly deceived. He does not know who he is in Christ. He apparently does not know the true character and nature of God. (If he did, he would realize that it could not be possible for God to have given someone a genetic predisposition to do what He forbids.) I would venture that your son is also quite confused about how to handle life's problems and challenges. Unfortunately, he seems to be listening to the world as it tries to prove that wrong is right - instead of looking for the truth himself.