What Are Your Kids Learning from Jennifer Knapp?Homosexuality and the Bible

Former Christian artist Jennifer Knapp made waves in the music world recently by announcing that her return to music wouldn't be in the Christian industry. Oh, yea, and she's gay. If you listen to Knapp relay events, she will tell you that her exit from the Christian market in 2002 had nothing to do with her sexuality. She will also say that her not returning to the Christian market is not because she's a lesbian but because she has burnout. Neither statement appears very logical. How things will pan out for her new career choice remains to be seen. What is most important is what our kids are learning from Jennifer Knapp and others like her.

A great deal of lessons our kids learn come from those they admire in the entertainment industry. With no guidance from parents kids will absorb skewed messages with no truth to balance it out. It is our responsibility as parents to know whom our kids are admiring and what those role models are doing with their lives. We must provide our kids with the dose of reality they're not likely going to hear anywhere else.

So, what should our response be when the faith and values we've spent a lifetime working into our kids are trampled upon by someone they admire? Becoming a fan of a Christian artist then hearing mixed messages from that artist can be very confusing, especially in the area of homosexuality. From celebrities to politicians everyone has a gay agenda, be they for it or against it.

As Christian parents we have a spiritual and parental responsibility to speak the truth. We begin by making it clear to our children that God views homosexuality as a sin. However, it is no more a sin than the little white lie told to keep from hurting someone's feelings. Sin is sin. It doesn't come in degrees. It's an all or nothing program. God hates sin but not sinners. I am a heterosexual Christian woman but God doesn't love me more than the homosexual that refuses to acknowledge His existence. It's a hard concept to grasp but the crux of it is that God is love. We have the option of accepting and returning his love but it doesn't change his love for us.

Individuals proclaiming the Christian faith often confess homosexuality only after a scandal has broken. I think there is merit to be found in those like Knapp who bring the issue of their sexual orientation into the public view of her own accord. Knapp, and others, proclaim to still be Christians; just gay ones. That is entirely possible. Christianity is based upon what is in your heart. "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1Samuel 16:7 (New International Version)

By no stretch of the imagination are we expected to be perfect. But we are expected to acknowledge our sin and turn from it. Clearly some sins are more difficult to turn from than others. We may fail time and time again. But our greatest triumph is in that continued failing because we stagger to our feet and return to the fight. That is the lesson our kids are most in need of today. They need to know how to fight, how to pick themselves up and keep trying. If our children are to be successful in life they must first learn how to successfully fail.

And above all our children must learn to resist the standard party line of the Bible being up for interpretation. This is a favored line among those crossing between Christianity and homosexuality. It couldn't be further from the truth. There is nothing to interpret about homosexuality because God is quite clear about His view on it. People often find it easier to change the rules than themselves. That is not God's way. It's vital that our children learn that we don't get to change the Bible simply because we can't be faithful to its teachings. Instead, we must take responsibility for our sins and allow God to work them out of us through His love, grace and mercy.