And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Genesis 18:23

The book of Genesis is like a soap opera. If you can dig down deep and just make it past the genealogies, you would be amazed at how captivating this book is. Drama, drama, and more drama! For example, to name a few, you have Adam and Eve, you have Noah and his sons laughing at his nakedness, you have daughters trying to get pregnant by their father, and you even have Moses killing an Egyptian. But right up there, with the most talked about stories in the great book of Genesis is the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. However, most of the discourse surrounding this particular story is almost never about the lesson God intended us to learn, instead it is one of the Scriptures used to promote the belief that the LGBTQ community will be eradicated.

Honestly, this makes me laugh and pray. The idea that people believe that Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed for gay activity and gay activity alone, is hilarious and scary at the same time. If you are a member of the LGBTQ community, just like me, and someone uses this Scripture to show you the error of your lifestyle, I charge you to laugh at them modestly and then pray for their mercy, relentlessly. Afterwards, share the Good News that I shall propose for you in this testimony, if you will.

Speaking in layman’s terms, Sodom and Gomorrah was your inner-city ghetto. But, it was the roughest inner-city ghetto, the worst, the most desperate inner-city ghetto in the land. It was a dangerous, unsafe, and rotten place. The worst of the worst lived in Sodom and Gomorrah, God was disgusted and moved to destroy it. But, to one of the patriarchs of Scripture, establishing himself as such in Genesis, the plan was revealed. Even though he knew he was only a lowly servant of God, not worthy to even think he can ask, he was compelled. He wanted to know, if there were any righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah, were they going to be destroyed along with the transgressors for their transgressions?

God must have thought it was a good question, so he sent some angels to the house of one of his servants. As dusk was falling, the person’s house whom they were sent told them to get inside. They could stay there for the night. He hosted them. They could wash their hands and feet and he baked them some bread which was a staple on the dinner table during these times. He offered all of this, along with a place for them to sleep and told them they could leave early. I hate to throw my two cents in, but I can guarantee you, he just wanted these visitors off the streets before night fell.

They entered the house and before long there came a knock at the door. The head of the household went to the door. It turned out to be the neighborhood goons wanting to know who the men were that visited him that evening. They demanded he bring the men out so they could know them. In those days, to know, meant to have sex with. This was so unacceptable to the head of the household, with whom these visitors from another place were receiving shelter, he stepped out of the door, closing it behind him and looked at them like they were crazy. Begging them to not press their wicked agenda, he offered his virgin daughters to them to do as they saw fit.

Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. Genesis 19:8

“… for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.” In plain English, this man is saying, “… because they are visitors under MY roof.” The man did not say, “… because that is gay and I don’t tolerate that.” He didn’t say, “Do nothing to these men because gay acts send you to hell.” He said nothing, absolutely nothing about being gay, gay acts, being destroyed for being gay, or even, “It’s not right to rape another man.” He didn’t even say anything about the fact the men were rapists. Seems to me like he didn’t care what the men wanted to do as long as it wasn’t happening on his watch.

Here’s a judicial example of what law is at play here, in case you still haven’t fully gotten my point; the same point this Scripture is trying to convey: Someone comes to your house and they ask to use the bathroom. The bathroom is upstairs. Your banister is rickety, unsupported, needing repair or much worst, needing to be replaced. As they are coming down the stairs, the banister gives way and as a result, they fall, breaking their ankle. You are liable for their medical expenses. If someone gets hurt in your house, by law, they can sue and yes, you will be responsible for their medical bills.

I once went to a friend’s house. This was back in the day when the two-way pagers were out. One of my friend’s friend stole my two-way pager. Needless to say, we were no longer friends. I was able to see where her loyalty lied because she didn’t make her friend return it, nor did she offer to reimburse me. In another example, just this past weekend, some of my partner’s friends came into the city. To save money, they stayed at another friend’s house. Their hostess didn’t have a comforter, nor a pillow for either of them. They were cold and expressed an overall feeling of vulnerability.

The hostess in this story, who was saved from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was saved for this very act of hospitality. As I mentioned, God sent angels to one of his servants house to see if his servant was a righteous man. His righteousness was displayed through his moral obligation to be hospitable. The man’s point was, he was not going to allow any wickedness to come to his visitors because he was in charge of their safety for the time they were to be staying at his house. If anything happened to them, their blood would be on his hands. This story, this lesson has absolutely nothing to do with being gay. It has to do with hospitality. This man was willing to give up his virgin daughters and he was even willing to die. When he told the men that he was not going to bring his visitors out, they got irate. They were demanding and aggressive. The man of the house didn’t back down. He was going to protect the visitors in his house at all costs.

People can flip this story anyway they like. At the end of the day, they will have to answer to God. But, for my friends of the LGBTQ community, the next time someone talks about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and its relation to gay people and gay acts, simply shake your head no as if you were talking to a toddler that thought they understood something but they’ve gotten it all wrong. After you explain the story, as it was meant to be told, through our moral obligation to be hospitable, remind them too that during those day, there was no such thing as gay. Well, maybe there was a such thing as gay, but these men at the door may not have been gay! This is a very important addition to the story.

The Bible and Scripture means so much more when you understand the context in which a story is told. Society is brand-spanking new. These guys, hearing that there were new people in town, wanted to show the visitors who the heavy hitters were in the neighborhood. They wanted to control them, they wanted to be in charge, and they wanted them to be afraid of them as this was the nature of life in Sodom and Gomorrah. No different than today’s thug, except for socially we have evolved and we don’t have to rape the new kids on the block, we just ostracize them until they become one of us. Didn’t you see this behavior the first day of school or the first day at a job? There is always one person, or a group of people who feel good about making the new kid on the block very uncomfortable. They have no qualms about humiliating the new kid on the block. The new kid on the block is often the joke, ignored, and mistreated. Well, long before we became what we are today, the principles were still there, however, it was in the hands of a primitive society and in the worst part of town, men went so far as to rape other men to drive that humiliation home! These men may not have been gay. They were using rape as a means to keep control. It was a job. The enjoyment they got was more emotional that physical pleasure. The physical pleasure was probably a bonus. Their main agenda was the very same agenda there is today for jerks when a new kid is in their midst. They want to do whatever they can to make them uncomfortable.