I am so excited for the new Beauty and the Beast. I love Emma Watson, I love the story and the songs, and the trailers look beautiful and artistic. However, there’s now a big to-do about an “exclusively gay moment” in the film. Some people are upset about a kids movie embracing homosexuality. Some people are upset about the negative backlash, and are excited to have homosexuality normalized in popular cinema.
In the recent movie Storks, a baby is delivered to a same-sex couple. My mom watched that movie and didn’t even notice, but my aunt with four little kids did notice, and she was upset by it. She didn’t want that normalized for her children because she believes marriage, morally, should only be between a man and a woman.
I am a devout Christian, and I believe that marriage should exclusively be between a man and a woman. In addition, I believe in loving everyone and not judging (also Christian values). Nowadays these concepts seem to be mutually exclusive, but they aren’t. We can control what we watch and what we let our children watch while loving those who make different life choices.
Homosexuality is rapidly becoming normalized in our culture, and that’s not going to change or stop anytime soon. Our homes are a different story. We control what comes in, what feelings abide there, and how we treat and talk to and about others. We can choose to not expose our children to homosexuality, but we also should choose to teach our children to love everyone, especially those who make different decisions that we may not agree with.
I know people who are in homosexual relationships, and I love them — not in spite of their relationships, but because of who they are. Their sexuality has nothing to do with how much I love them. I do not have to agree with that lifestyle, and I have every right to teach my children what I believe is right, but I do not have a right to be unkind to those who do not believe as I do. If I truly believe in Jesus Christ, I must act as He invites us to: I must love and respect everyone even as I live as He has commanded.
If you won’t watch Beauty and the Beast because of the gay parts, I respect that choice. If you want to watch it anyway, I understand that choice. If you choose to teach your children that marriage should only be between a man and a woman, I understand you, too. If you are in a homosexual relationship, I love and respect you.
It is not my place to judge. It is not your place to judge. Live what you believe, seek truth, and teach your children, but do not judge or condemn others. That is God’s job, not ours. That is the only way that we will be able to live in peace in this world with so many different opinions and lifestyles.
