Originally posted: December 2022

As a kid, I remember watching the first Best Man back in 1999. When the second one came out in 2013, I jumped at the chance to watch it. As soon as I heard that the third installment was slated to be released, I knew that I would have to check it out. It is important to keep in mind that Lance's Christianity was always considered suspect in the first movie, which means that he lacked any understanding of Christianity. Despite the fact that it was only a movie, he was sleeping with multiple women, but still held a high regard for God. For those of us who have a deeper understanding, this makes little sense. However, there was something in the first episode that caught my attention, so I ended up watching the last episode. There was a flashback to Lance and Mia at the beginning of the episode. The scene depicts her giving birth to their son, followed by Lance at the cemetery. He was telling Mia that he knew their son would have been loved by her. Following that, he quotes 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, he changed charity to love.

 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

He is crying saying that he failed their son and asking God to change him. He repeatedly asked God to change me. God you are love, help me to understand LJ. After that it cut to his home, I learned that his son was missing. They have not seen him so the police have been called. This is also when I learned that his son is non-binary. Putting two and two together Lance considers himself a Christian, so he is not accepting or he doesn’t understand his son. As a result, that was the end for me. I didn’t even finish watching the episode because that caught my attention. How can he quote scripture about how love never fails, yet leave out the part where it says love does not rejoice in iniquity? What does iniquity mean? Iniquity is sin. Love does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth. What is truth? It's the word of God. God’s word is truth so what God calls sin is sin?

Yes, I am aware that this was television, however, this is exactly what happens in real life. How are we, those that say we are children of God okay with sin? We are to love what God loves and hate what God hates. Therefore, he is asking God to change him instead of praying and asking God to change his son. To prick his heart and open his mind. Open up his understanding so that he could see God’s truth. While we are supposed to love them, we are not supposed to uphold or participate in their sins.

His own mother, he removed her as queen and he burned the idols that she had built. He didn’t pray and ask God to change him so that he could conform to the sins of his mother.

One of the most popular phrases about God is "God is love." Obviously, if you truly knew God, then you would know that He is a God of love and mercy. He is a God of grace, but he is also a God of judgment, of wrath, of destruction, and of vengeance. He is a God of recompense, a God of chastisement.

Hebrews 12:5-8

“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.”

God will chastise those that He loves. How is it that we as people have this concept that God is just love, love, love? We act as if our disobedience will not result in punishment as sinners. If we refuse to repent, we are fated to end up in hell. There is no other way to put it. Many people talk about judging, but God already judged it when He called it sin. Although we cannot condemn, God has already condemned sinners, for the wages of sin is death. Those who are in sin are automatically condemned to hell by God. He will not change his word for you or for me. His word is forever.

We treat God as if His word were laid before us in an all-you-can-eat restaurant. Our guide is the word, and the word is our bread. The Word of God is our sword. However, we treat the word of God as if it is a buffet, and I will take some of this. Since this tastes good, let me get some of that and let me get more of these. That is not what I would prefer, so I will leave it there. You are a picky eater who picks and chooses what appeals to your ears to justify and cover up your sins. I believe this, but I do not believe that.

This isn’t just about homosexuality. This is everything that God has called sin. That's what you do when you try to use scripture to justify whatever it is you're doing instead of obeying God's word that tells you to come out of sin. We can’t pick and choose what parts of the Bible we want to believe in and what we want to accept. God is okay with this and no God is not okay with that. You must eat the entire roll. On social media, I often wonder whether people actually read their Bibles or what version they are reading. Some of this stuff is just off-the-wall.

Jesus sat with sinners and he walked among them. Yes, He did but what he didn’t do was conform to them. He preached against sin, He preached repentance. At no point did you see Jesus telling people aww it is okay God loves you. Patting people on the back and telling them God understands, just keep doing what you’re doing.

John 8 tells the story of a woman who was caught in adultery. Her accusers brought her to Jesus. Another scripture people like to use is He who is without sin casts the first stone. They leave out the part in verse 11.

And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”

Jesus told her to go and sin no more. What does that mean? Repent and do not continue in sin. There are so many instances in which Scripture is used to justify sin that it is mind-boggling. We would be here for a long time if I discussed every scripture in detail. They pick one part of the text, but fail to read the rest in order to understand the context. God's Word has been given to us for a purpose, and the enemy is determined to destroy it. We know that there will come a time when we can't even read it. Because of this, His Word must be engraved in our hearts, not simply known, but lived. We are living in a critical time, and His Word is more pertinent now than ever before. You are in danger if you are a picky eater, as you do not possess the knowledge necessary to sustain you during these times. Get to know His Word. Pray for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.

Remember that God loves you and so do I with the love of Christ.