In summary, the song is about what many would term "gay rights" issues. It speaks out against the homophobia of the hip-hop industry and against the idea he says is held by "right wing conservatives" that homosexuality is simply "a decision" that can be "cured with some treatment and religion". The chorus, sung by Mary Lambert, reads:
And I can't change
Even if I tried
Even if I wanted to
And I can't change
Even if I tried
Even if I wanted to
My love
My love
My love
She keeps me warm
She keeps me warm
She keeps me warm
She keeps me warm
As I listened, tears came to my eyes and my heart hurt. I had so much that I felt I wanted to say to the gay community in Peterborough, Barbados, Canada, and the world, in response to this song. Here's my attempt at articulating some of the things I wish I could say:
- I'm sorry that I used to be one of those people who said that homosexuality was only a decision, and that people could just simply choose not to be homosexuals. I know now that some people are born with a predisposition to be attracted to the same sex, and I am so sorry for my pride and my lack of compassion for so many years. Please forgive me.
- I am so sorry for the homophobia you have had to endure - people calling you names and saying hateful things, ostracizing you, acting like homosexuality is the one unpardonable sin. This is so wrong there aren't even words for it.
- I know now that you can't change your sexual predisposition, even if you wanted to, even if you tried, like "Same Love" says. That chorus rang so true to me, not just in regard to homosexuality, but for me as a heterosexual sinner. I can't change, even if I tried, even if I wanted to. That's why I need a Saviour. Only Jesus can save us from our sinful selves and change us from the inside out.
- If I really and truly love you, I can't say "live on and be yourself" - not to the gay community, nor to the heterosexual community - because that "book written 3500 years ago" is actually the inspired Word of God, and I am not paraphrasing when I quote 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 :- Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
If I love you, I MUST tell you the truth. I am a sinner. You are a sinner. We are all unrighteous idolaters and we can't change ourselves. But the answer isn't to "live on and be yourself". No, the answer is to repent and believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins! If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).
Trusting in Jesus means that we believe that He lived the perfect life we could never live, that He died in our place on the cross, bearing the punishment we deserved, and then He rose again, defeating sin and death forever! It means that we believe we are accepted by God on Jesus' merit, not our own, and then in response to His love and acceptance of us, while still sinners, we ask Him to change us from the inside out and we begin to turn from our sin (repent). We deny the sin that comes naturally to us, take up our crosses and follow Him (Luke 9:23).
Trusting in Jesus doesn't mean I am instantly "cured" of my sin. I still have wrong desires, and so will my gay friends who are saved by His grace. But the solution isn't to just roll over, as this song suggests, and mislead people into thinking that this is "just who they are", end of story. I don't believe that the Christian community should pendulum-swing from that awful homophobic extreme to the other end where we say that gay "marriage" is something to be applauded and held up as perfectly normal and right, which is totally where this song (and the accompanying music video) goes. As hard as it may be for you to hear the truth, lying to you isn't loving you. Though this song ends repeating "Love is patient, love is kind" from 1 Corinthians 13:4, it conveniently leaves out verse 6 that follows saying, "Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth".
In the words of an anonymous Christian lesbian (you can read the whole letter that she wrote to the Church here) that I read a few months ago: To those of you who would change the church to accept the gay community and its lifestyle: you give us no hope at all... You are willing to compromise the word of God to be politically correct. We are not deceived. If we accept your willingness to compromise, then we must also compromise. We must therefore accept your lying, your adultery, your lust, your idolatry, your addictions, YOUR sins....We do not ask for your acceptance of our sins any more than we accept yours. We simply ask for the same support, love, guidance, and most of all hope that is given to the rest of your congregation. We are your brothers and sisters in Christ. We are not what we shall be, but thank God, we are not what we were. Let us work together to see that we all arrive safely home. Amen, sister. Jesus is the only hope any of us have. But He is our Living Hope! As 1 Peter 1:3 says: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. - It is my prayer that God will help me show deep love and hold out true hope to all of you in the gay community.
Mel
Some other helpful articles:
How can the Gospel be Good News to Gays?
Letter to a Struggling Gay Christian
