SILENT LONG ENOUGH
From A Pastor's Perspective
Pastor Lee Steele
2/25/2011
Area 14 CPG Meeting Presentation
If you have ever been honest with yourself, now is the time. In the quiet of your reading and the stillness of your mind, right this minute, but honest with yourself when I ask you this question:
What is the first word or words that come to your mind when I say HIV or AIDS?
If you are being honest and if your thinking is as most thinking in society your answer(s) are most likely:
Gay Disease
Miserable Death
Pitiful
Contagious
Scary
Hopeless
I Don't Want It
Poor People
Poverty
Unclean
Promiscuity
Prostitute
They Who Have It Get What They Deserve
Didn't That Come From Monkeys?
Did any of these terms or phrases come to your mind? It doesn't make you a bad person if any of them did; it does, however, help to prove that there is a stigma, still today, as negative and impacting as ever concerning the disease.
Before we go any further perhaps we should define what STIGMA is.
STIGMA: A sign or point; a branding mark. *From the root word STIGMATA or "THE MARKED"
Taking it a step further is necessary when in reference to HIV/AIDS to know there is a social stigma...
SOCIAL STIGMA: A severe social disapproval of personal characteristics or beliefs that are against the cultural norms.
The International Center for Research on Woman says: Stigma happens when others devalue a person because they are associated with a certain disease, belief or practice.
With all of that said and understood we could easily say that stigma breeds and/or produces: segregation, degradation, isolation, hopelessness, fear, lack of will to care, lack of will to trust and lack of will to seek treatment.
Now, think about this...and seriously I want to know what you think:
The "church" has the power, if it chooses to use it, to STOP and END the STIGMA surrounding HIV/AIDS. In times past the Church's voice and power have had an extreme amount of influence in the way society and even politics acts and reacts to certain stimuli. The stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS is no different and I firmly stand behind the statement that the "CHURCH HAS BEEN SILENT ON THE ISSUE LONG ENOUGH"! The church by simply educating itself and allowing the love of God to permeate its most inner places... by laying down its religious attitude of judgement... by being accepting as Christ was accepting... by not continuing to live in fear... by raising its voice can, can, can stop the STIGMA!
Listen the top two religions world wide are Christianity and Islam; both of which claim hold to three shared principles: LOVE, PEACE and HARMONY. If these three values are truly values of these two mainstream religions then both must admit that stigma of any kind has no place in society and most especially has NO place in the ranks of the church. Stigma preaches and teaches internal and interpersonal principles that go directly against the heart and spirit of both Christianity and Islam.
Both religions promote LOVE... Stigma promotes and produces HATE
Both religions promote PEACE... Stigma promotes and produces UNREST
Both religions promote HARMONY... Stigma promotes and produces DIVISION
Yes, folks, the church has the power to end the evil consequences of stigma attending the truth and demonstrating love, peace and harmony to its followers. Its much easier to show them the right way than it is to tell them the right way. If church leaders would practice in real time, in real life the WORD of God before long the stigma found worldwide concerning HIV/AIDS would disappear. Stigma can be abolished, destroyed and defeated worldwide if the church... THE CHURCH would simply make it so.
Ive been in ministry for more than half of my life. During that time I have witnessed, first hand, the hateful destruction the church, as a whole, has helped produce. Religion has judged those who are infected and affected by this terrible and dreaded disease. Religion has excluded the sick instead of healing and ministering to them. We have stood proudly and boastfully behind our pulpits and declared cursing instead of blessing. We have manifested wrong instead of right. We have allowed it to happen by simply being SILENT long enough.
Think on these things and take them to heart. Knowledge is power and for the church to be able to enact the power to stop the stigma we must see how some have seen the stigma and in turn counteract that stigmatic attitude with the TRUTH!
S (stereotype) This is a gay disease!
TRUTH: Only men, women and children get HIV/AIDS. We must come to terms with the
fact that this is anyone's disease. Current stats show that not only is the disease
growing in numbers among the gay community but its numbers are increasing
across the board. Heterosexual infections are at their highest. There is no
stereotype that will fit in the puzzle of HIV/AIDS. If you are human and sexually
active, YOU ARE AT RISK! Yes, it CAN happen to you!
T (tolerance) We 'tolerate' those who are infected and affected by HIV/AIDS
TRUTH: Tolerance undermines the integrity of acceptance. The cold, hard fact is this;
you must accept the person to reach the person. If our pastors and church
leaders think for a moment that their tolerance of those infected will win those
to the sheepfold they are sadly mistaken. Tolerance gives permission to judge
and hate in the name of God. Yes, it does. As long as you tolerate you still are
acting, responding and reacting from a place of non-acceptance. You simply
must accept the fact that someone you now if affected in some way by this disease.
I (ignorance) I didnt know or realize there was a problem
TRUTH: Ignorance is the breeding ground of fear, prejudice and discrimination. I
said it earlier, "Knowledge is Power"... with that being said, concerning knowledge of
HIV/AIDS, most of the 'church' world doesnt have enough power to blow their noses. I do
not mean that in an insulting way at all... I am just simply trying to point out that as long as
we surround ourselves with more ignorance than knowledge the farther away the infected and
affected will run from us. WE MUST EDUCATE OURSELVES with the FACTS and NOT
THE FEARS!
G (God's pronounced judgement) HIV/AIDS is Gods judgement on sinful lifestyles
TRUTH: Life just happens and there are causes and affects! How easily we forget that
Christ carried our judgement with Him to the Calvary and our judgement was crucified with
HIM on the cross. HIV/AIDS is no more God's judgement toward a lifestyle than cellulite
is a curse on certain thighs. The fact is... if you do not eat right and fail to exercise cellulite
develops. Obesity is NOT a judgement from God because you like certain foods. It is just
how it is if you dont care for yourself properly. HIV/AIDS is the effect of not caring for your
self in a cautious and carefully minded way. For every action there is a reaction. For
everything you do there is an affect and response. God has nothing to do with it.
M (marginalization) Those with HIV/AIDS must be kept to themselves and not allowed too close
TRUTH: Jesus continually accepted, loved and touched those who were rejected by
religious and social leaders of His day. Marginalization has relegated and
confined certain people to a lower social standing and has pushed some to the
outer limits of social acceptance and wellness. Remember those who were the
closest to Christ and made up His inner circle were considered "ignorant and
unlearned men". However, because of the conversions and the differences
they made in the surrounding areas and townspeople were recognized as men
"who knew Jesus".
A (atrophic attitude) Those who have nothing to offer or give are often left unused and unrecognized
TRUTH: We are all members of ONE body and each member is of equal importance.
Atrophy is the wasting away or decrease in size of an organ or body part due to the
lack of nutrition, lack of use or injury. So often the religious have been guilty of
literally starving 'lesser members' of proper spiritual food and thusly have failed to
allow those who are different (those who are infected or affected with HIV/AIDS)
to be used and demonstrate their talents and abilities. There are many good life
lessons and blessings to nourish, use and incorporate those who are affected and
infected. We are missing vital parts of the body because of the attitude of atrophy.
Is it really better to starve them into segregation then to nourish them to be part of us?
Its the truth and there is no other way to state it... we have casually and in the name of God... pushed people away because of their status. Shame on us for doing so.
In order to stop the STIGMA we must stop being quiet. Its time the world heard our voices and observed us reaching out, including, accepting and making a REAL difference.
