Every generation faces a recurring choice between two paths: the path of fear—which breeds isolation, judgment, and exclusion—and the path of love—which calls for courage, hospitality, and recognition of shared humanity. Today, one path dominates our public discourse, fueling a legislative campaign built on panic and prejudice. Before we can propose a better way forward, we must first recognize the deep anxiety driving this destructive national behavior.

It’s unbelievable that Queers, who are approximately 7% of the U.S. population, could so terrify some of our fellow citizens. It must be fear driving this spate of legislative and judicial gay bashing, because no other logical explanation exists.

Only those full of fear pass laws about pronouns—pronouns!—and laws against men wearing dresses, reading fictional tales to children at the library.

Only frightened people, claiming the Bible as their authority, argue their cakes are “art” and therefore protected expression under the First Amendment. This allows them to withhold service from a single, specific group of unworthy recipients.

If 21st century defenders of the faith use Corinthians 6:9 to justify shunning same-sex relationships, they must recall that the same passage lists fornication, greed, theft, and adultery. Are they refusing cakes and websites to all who’ve had pre-marital sex, or are greedy, or are they only choosing the single vice that does not appeal to them?

Only fearful adults use their children as human shields to cower behind as they lob legislative bombs at other children, denying trans kids life-affirming health care. The phrase “protecting our children” has long been used as a bigoted call to action, and we should recognize it as such.

After the Brown decision reversed Plessy vs. Ferguson (stating “separate was inherently unequal”), white parents used “protecting our children” as a racist cover for fleeing integrated public schools. If, more recently, “protecting children” is being used as a weapon against trans people, we should recognize it as the bigotry it is. With more than 300 legislative bills in 2023 aimed against 2% of the population, it’s clearly about fear, not kids.

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The Message of Love

What if the message could be different? What if instead of following the message of fear, we instead followed the message of love? What might that look like?

When Christ was born, the angels came to Mary and to lowly shepherds saying, “Fear not.” What if, “Fear Not” is also God’s message to us?

What if Christian bakers and website makers courageously decided that hospitality and love would be their witness? What if they decided that there is enough judgement in the world, so, instead, their response to the radical love of Christ for themselves would be to love others?

What if the great commandments of love God with all your heart and soul and mind and love your neighbor as yourself were the framework for decisions about who is in and who is out?

According to Matthew 25, the test we are facing is not a purity test—did we shun the right people in the name of God, but a vision test: did we see Christ in our neighbors, specifically those who have already been shunned and forgotten by society.

What if God sent the gay couple to your business so that you could witness, not in words, but in deeds? You might recall the experience to friends later, saying, “I don’t agree with gay marriage, but I am open to the public. Today a gay couple asked for a wedding cake, saying they’d had my carrot cake at their sister’s wedding. I took their order in the way I would for anyone else, though I admit to being uncomfortable. They were obviously in love, and I thought later, who am I to judge?”

Maybe the gay couple would tell this story to their friends. “We knew from our sister that the baker attends a conservative church and walking in we noticed a cross on the door of the bakery. We decided to take a chance, though, based on my sister’s experience. They couldn’t have been nicer. We later laughed in the car about how tense the poor guy looked, but to his credit, he treated us warmly. Those are probably the first ‘out’ Christians to ever treat us well.”

Remember the words of John, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love casts out fear…” (John 4:18).

May it be so.