Dear Members of the WBC -- I Love You

I have apparently become a favorite for the Twitter feed of the Westboro Baptist Church, having been tweeted and retweeted about dozens of times.
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I have apparently become a favorite for the Twitter feed of the Westboro Baptist Church, having been tweeted and retweeted about dozens of times. Some are strange, some amusing, but most are just sad. This last one, however, really got me to thinking. It began by saying, "nealwooten hates WBC." This led to an epiphany. I realize now just how dangerous these people are.

The Bible warns about false prophets and Jesus referred to them as wolves in sheep's clothing. (Matt 7:15) I often worry about charming and likable silver-tongued preachers who lead many people astray by promising them salvation with no effort other than to keep the donations coming.

The members of the WBC are not these wolves. They do not want people to join them; they don't want your money, and they are neither charming nor likable. But their actions might still affect just as many people, because they inspire Christians to break the second most important Commandment of them all -- love your neighbor as yourself. (Matt 22:39) Jesus demanded even more of us -- love also your enemy. (Matt 5:44)

After reading this last tweet, and reading over their website, I see now that they thrive on people hating them. They love to portray themselves as the victim, and they love to instill hate in the hearts of others with their vulgar signs with third-grade-level slang, and protesting at the funerals of honorable fallen American soldiers.

To hate is part of human nature. It is an easy emotion, especially in today's world with so many bad people in it. But when we allow people to control our emotions, we are no better than they are. When we give people like this the power to live rent-free in our heads and in our hearts, we have failed.

The fact is, I have responded to their tweets with courteous and honest debate, so this tweet was totally fabricated. I know they would like for me to hate them, but the truth is I don't. As misguided as they are, they are still part of God's creation.

I grew up in the Bible Belt and the majority of my family and friends are good Christian people. Hence my goal for this article is to prove that a Christian's faith is stronger than the immature tactics of the WBC. That's right -- I'm calling all Christians.

Please leave a comment to let the members of the WBC know that you love them and hope one day they will open their hearts to the Lord.

Share this article with everyone you know and let's prove that love is stronger than hate.

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