I had a blog post in the works about my thoughts on last week’s supreme court ruling that marriage was a fundamental right that could not be denied based on the sex of the individuals involved. I quoted some stuff from the document (which you can read here) as well as the LDS Church’s official response (here). Writing up the post was taking enough time that I didn’t manage to post it over the weekend following the ruling. That waiting period allowed me to observe the reactions of my friends and family. I find the reactions more interesting than the ruling itself, so I’ll just talk about that, okay?

But in case you were wondering, here’s what I think about the ruling itself. I have supported the legalization of same-sex marriage for several months, so I am glad that it passed. But I would not have campaigned or protested for it, since I will not encourage anyone to participate in such a relationship due to my religious convictions. One of the biggest concerns people have with this issue is the fear of losing religious freedoms. And if it becomes a reality that any religion is forced against its will or doctrine to perform these marriages, I will fight with all my soul to protect that religion.

Now back to the interesting stuff.

As is the case with many polarizing subjects, you never really hear much from the people in the middle. All I see about this is either “Hip, Hip, Hooray!” or “The world is ending in fiery damnation!” I’m trying to avoid any article that seems too polarized in either direction, since it’s very taxing on the soul to see so much emotion in one place.

I did share one article to my timeline – it wasn’t even about marriage – that got pretty close to catching fire. The author was explaining his distaste for the phrase “Love the sinner, hate the sin.” To him, this phrase is almost exclusively applied to homosexuality, in an almost patronizing way. He argues that Christ, though he spent time with “sinners,” would not have seen them as such. He saw them as brothers and sisters, children of God with eternal potential and infinite worth despite their sins. It was the pharisees and other religious onlookers that took issue with Christ’s companions. They could not see past their flaws and mistakes.

Focusing on the sin prevents us from truly loving the one who sins. We are all sinners, and no one enjoys being told how bad they are. Christ is the judge. If we have explained the Gospel and the consequences of sin, our only responsibility is to love. Not to love “the sinner,” but simply to love one another. Focus on the person, not the sin. That’s the difference between mercy and justice.

I titled this post “Love Wins” for a few reasons. First, it’s one of the most popular hash tags being circulated by those who support marriage equality. But second, because the phrase can apply to so much more. I hope we can all be motivated by love for all. Speak the truth, but speak it with kindness. Hate the sin if you must, but don’t judge the sinner. And once you have made your words clear, leave justice to God.