Whenever we discuss God’s moral code on a subject like sexual orientation, invariably there is a crop of gays who react with intense anger. They don’t actually read everything we say—all they hear is that God says homosexuality is wrong. Why does this freak them out so much? Because they’re gay and they can’t help it. They’re feeling condemned by their Creator for something that is wired in, and naturally that results in intense feelings of helplessness and fear.

Well, if the straights were paying more attention, they would be feeling the same panic that gays do, because homosexuality is just one of many internal qualities that God says are wrong. God says being prideful is wrong. You’re prideful. God says lust is wrong. You lust. God says envying is wrong. You envy. God says that being sinful is wrong. You’re sinful.

See, gays aren’t worse than anyone else. Neither are pedophiles or murderers or addicts or liars or lusters. Whenever you find yourself flipping out over someone talking about God’s moral code, stop and think about why you’re so upset. You’ll find that often the real problem is that you feel hopeless about ever pleasing God because whatever issue is being discussed is something that you can’t change. God says looking at porn is wrong. If you’re a porn addict, this feels like a hopeless message, because you can’t just kick your habit. You’re addicted. Addictions feel impossible to beat—that’s why they’re called addictions. Or maybe you crave sex with kids. You can’t help this—it’s wired in. But God says pedophilia is wrong. Well, rats, where does that leave you? Well, look around you: we’re all in the same mess. None of us are better than you—some of us are just pretending that we are because we’re ignoring most of God’s moral code. But if we were all to sit down and take an honest look at all of the things God says are wrong, then we’d all be forced to conclude that it is absolutely impossible for us to be sinless. And if we can’t be sinless, and God says He hates sin, then where is the hope?

Here’s where we get to the good news: God says that while He hates sin, He loves sinners. He says that being sinless is not a requirement for pleasing Him. But He does require submission from us, and that means that we need to align with His standards.