Why do I feel like coming out would be the end of the world?

by Anonymous

Rick Brentlinger Answers -

Great question! Coming out can be a scary thing because you don't know how people you care about will react. And sometimes you have a sneaking suspicion exactly how they will react and that can be frightening too.

Coming out can sometimes mean rejection by those who mean the most to you. Or it can mean isolation and feelings of loneliness.

Coming out can also mean personal freedom, honesty, increased self-respect, integrity, greater dignity and the joy of finally taking off the mask.

For too long, gays and lesbians have been treated as second-class citizens by church and society. Its time for the discrimination and opprobrium to end.

Coming out is often the most courageous and exciting thing you can do. Coming out says to the world:

This is who I am so whether you choose to love me or leave me, I go courageously forward with Jesus, "the friend who sticks closer than a brother" by my side.

Concerning your second question: "Why don't I feel happy and why do I wish I wasn't gay?" I think that's a fair question for which there are no easy answers.

Feelings of happiness often spring from being a loved and respected part of a group, a family, a congregation. Some GLBTs are isolated and lonely, which leads to feeling discouraged, defeated, demoralized and depressed.

Sometimes part of the cure for those feelings is to realize who you are in Christ. As a child of God, if you've trusted Jesus as your Savior, you are accepted by God and loved for who you are, for who He made you to be.

The best foundation for self-esteem is to understand who you are "in Christ." God loves you with an everlasting love, whether you are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered. The New Testament book of Ephesians has helpful information about who you are "in Christ."

Then too, good self-esteem comes from being trained to earn a decent living. If your job skills are sub-standard, perhaps its time to go back to school and get the training you need to earn a good living.

Once you've done that, your horizon will broaden because you will be able to move from the area where you feel isolated, to someplace where there are more gays and lesbians, where people like you are accepted and valued for who they are.

Finally, when we're feeling down, sometimes the best thing we can do is get out of our comfort zone and do something to bless others. That might mean helping out someone in your neighborhood or visiting a nursing home and talking to the residents or volunteering to help out at church.

Don't let the tin-foil hat, anti-gay christian crowd beat you down. The Bible does not say what they allege it says. Believe God, walk with Jesus day by day and make your life count for God. You are a blessing and you are loved!

Coming out stories of gay and lesbian Christians.

My Coming Out story, by Rick Brentlinger

Original question:

"Why is it I feel like coming out would be the end of the world? Why don't I feel happy and why do I wish I wasn't gay?"