Left-handedness and the church
In his recent editorial piece, Father Cam Lemons (June 2) asserted that “One of the most far-reaching and influential achievements of the Christian faith around the world the past two thousand years has been to spread the ethics of looking out for the forgotten and vulnerable.” He went on to say that people with differing orientations and beliefs all deserve the same protections under our laws. I completely agree.
Here’s where it becomes more complex. When people of faith start talking about what should (and should not) be promoted publicly in our community, then we need to consider left-handed people and their “orientation.” Beginning with the appearance of Eve on Adam’s left side in the book of Genesis, the Christian tradition describes the left side being pinned to immorality. Matthew 25:33 describes God’s divine judgement, “as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats; and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left,” with those on the right sent to the kingdom of Heaven and those on the left “cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” In Matthew 25.41, we learn that on the Day of Judgment, God would send those on the right to Heaven and condemn those on the left to Hell. In total the Bible makes 100 references about the right hand, all of them positive. Whereas only 25 references to the left hand are made, all of which are negative.
What about our left-handed loved ones? I’ve found Roman Catholic teaching to be helpful in this regard. During the times of the Spanish Inquisition, left-handed people were considered devil worshippers, who were worthy of execution. The church has since evolved to a more loving position. It acknowledges lefthandedness as something that is not sinful in itself. But it does not proclaim left-handed acts free from error; nor are they worthy of celebration. Left-handed people are our brothers, sisters, coworkers, community leaders, church goers, and friends. Our heart hurts for them, but celebrating them would be dangerous. While the left-dominance urge might be implicit in some of us, the exercise of left-handedness is a choice. With prayer, dedication, and church support, people can learn to be right handed. Public school teachers should not be made to acknowledge left-handed people, because that will only encourage more people to use their left hands. It would be best for all concerned, if we discontinued use of left-handed scissors in grades K-5 at least. Some community members assert that this stance is bigoted and hateful, which couldn’t be farther from the truth. We love our left-handed friends and family, but cannot condone their behavior.
Does this sound ridiculous? Of course it does! Because it is absurd. The Bible should be studied in historical context to understand what divine wisdom it has for us. Pointing to 25 “left side” verses and using them to exclude left-handed people from God’s kingdom is not only lazy Biblical scholarship, it is harmful. Like hand dominance, sexual orientation is not something one chooses, nor is it a sin in the Bible. If one reads Christianity’s most sacred text in its entirety and in context, it becomes clear that the Bible does not call anyone to be a gatekeeper for God’s kingdom. Rather, it calls us to be ambassadors of love for God’s kingdom. Regarding same-sex weddings in 2016, United Methodist minister Rev. Eston Williams said “I’d rather be excluded for who I include than included for who I exclude.” Communities of faith are not called to be bouncers for the afterlife, they are called to bring heaven to Earth here and now. What does that mean? Zechariah 7:9-10 teaches us, “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner, or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.”
Jesus’ message of inclusivity is perhaps best summarized in Matthew 22:37-40: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Jesus put no qualifiers on his instruction to love one another. Through his teaching and example, we see that to live with an open and inclusive heart is to know the meaning of heaven on earth. You might be thinking, “Yeah, but I’m not religious.” That’s OK! The United States is not a theocracy and the Bible shouldn’t be used as the basis for, or justification of, actual public policy.