Issues regarding diversity seem to have captured the news media over the recent times. We see front and centre meetings convened at top levels of organisations and governments about what has been now popularly known as LGBT* rights. The core of this is the ugliness and evil when systematic discrimination is met out to LGBT community members by some laws, policies, practices, and violence. But racial minorities for years have been targets as well. Such persons of African, Indian and other descents as well as persons of various religious beliefs have been targets of discrimination evil for years.
For centuries, minorities of every kind have been targets of evil from those persons in the mainstream. So the issues and challenges faced by the LGBT community in principle and reality are no different. These problems faced by the LGBT community members are not new at all. Our societies have from the beginning of time been diseased by evil discriminations of all kinds. These discriminations lead to unfair and partial practices at all levels in organisations, governments, and societies.
The core issue is respect. If we have no respect, we will not treat others fairly; if we have no respect, we will not impartially make judgements in hiring, firing, promoting, and in our general dealings with others. Respect is to unbiasedly recognize the differences of others and give each person equal weights or ratings from the start. Respect is to declare in our thinking and actions that others have equal rights and freedoms as ourselves and to acknowledge the values they ascribe to their views, thinking, choices, and orientations.
It matters not if we disagree with their views and lifestyles, we must let God be the judge and treat others with the love that God treats us all. He gave His One and only Son Jesus to die for the sins of the world (John 3:16). What is more, the Bible says, we were all ‘enemies of God before we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior’ (Romans 5:10). So this God of love (1 John 4:7-9) is impartial (Romans 2:11). We need to follow His example (Ephesians 5:1, NIV).
* LGBT or GLBT is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender.