Inspired Faith Blog

What’s a Christian to do with World AIDS Month?

On December 2, 2009 · 1 Comments

You may have noticed a lot of buzz on the internet yesterday about World AIDS Day. December 1 marked the 21st World AIDS Day, and the entire month of December has been set aside as World AIDS Month. This day and month were set aside to promote awareness of HIV/AIDS and to encourage support for those affected by the disease.

As I came across a large amount of Tweets and Facebook ads promoting awareness of Worlds AIDS Day, I figured I should get Inspired Faith on the bandwagon. I posted some AIDS Day-related Tweets and started researching some websites with stories and charities related to AIDS so I could write a blog post.

As I read stories from people who have become infected, I noticed something surprising. I knew that AIDS is only transferred through sexual contact or blood contact, so it wasn’t surprising to me that many people I read about had contracted AIDS through premarital or extramarital sex or through drug use. What surprised me was my gut reaction to those stories. I found myself skimming stories, looking for people I could have legitimate sympathy for–people who had been infected unknowingly, perhaps through a blood transfusion or through an unfaithful spouse’s bad choices. My initial reaction toward the people who “chose” infection for themselves by engaging in unsafe sex with multiple partners or by using drugs was that they deserved what happened to them. They made their beds, now they had to sleep in them, so why should I feel sorry for them?

When I started to really think about my initial reaction to those stories, the Holy Spirit began to convict me. Was my attitude really that of Jesus?

Then I began to think about how the Church as a whole generally deals with the AIDS pandemic. I’ve never been part of a local church that mentioned AIDS, much less contributed money, time, or support to AIDS victims. Why? Could it be that a majority of the Church has the same gut reaction I had to many AIDS victims? They sinned; now they’re paying for it. And instead of having compassion on these sinners, maybe we feel scared of them. Maybe we’d rather distance ourselves and deal with “lesser” sinners whose consequences of sin aren’t so obvious. Maybe we don’t like the uncomfortable reminder of our own sin nature and the reminder that the wages of sin is death.

Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. I believe that God wants us to be more active in sharing His gift of eternal life in Christ with AIDS victims and less active in our condemnation of those who have sinned.

In John 8:3-11, we see a picture of Jesus’ attitude toward a potential AIDS victim:

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing Him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with His finger. When they kept on questioning Him, He straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

The woman in this story was engaged in behavior many of the people I read about were engaged in. Like the Pharisees, my initial reaction was condemnation. But by the Spirit’s tender cultivation, I pray that my attitude and the attitude of the Church would become like Jesus’ attitude toward this woman. His attitude was not one that embraced her sin, but it was one that embraced her. We always hear the phrase, “Hate the sin, but love the sinner.” World AIDS Month is an opportunity for us to put that idea into practice.

Rather than turn our hearts away from those who have participated in unrighteous acts, let’s commit to doing something to love them. Let’s commit to seeing ourselves in the same boat. After all, we were once slaves to sin ourselves, and if not for God’s gift of life through Christ, where would we be?

There are many Christian organizations that are committed to practically loving those who have contracted AIDS. You can find links to their websites at the end of this post. If you aren’t able to or don’t feel led to commit service or money to an AIDS organization, take some time to do something even more powerful. Pray.

Pray for those who have contracted AIDS. Most of them are scared, lonely, and depressed. You can understand why. Pray for their comfort and that those who don’t know Christ would come to know His power and His love. Pray that those who feel shame would release it to God and accept His grace even as they repent for past choices.

Pray for the hearts of Christians, that we would not be like the Pharisees, but that we would be like Jesus and love those who “made their own beds.” Pray that we would be examples to the world of compassion, grace, and service concerning the AIDS pandemic.

Pray for those who don’t yet have AIDS but are in danger of contracting it, through their current lifestyle or through temptations and circumstances in their lives. Pray that the Spirit will bring believers into their lives to love them with Christ’s love and to give them hope for the future.

Finally, there are many cases throughout the world of people who have contracted AIDS through no choice of their own. There are villages in rural China where peasants donated blood to local blood banks to earn extra money. The blood banks were contaminated with AIDS, and entire villages have been devastated by the disease. There are places in Africa where people believe that if a man has sex with a virgin, it will cure his AIDS. Young women have been raped, and instead of curing the man’s disease, contracted the disease themselves. Pray for these victims who were taken advantage of, whose lives were stolen from them. The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy, and these stories are a powerful depiction of that. Pray for education in developing nations, so that deadly medical errors would not happen. Pray for integrity in leaders who oversee business and medical safety. Pray that those who take advantage of the powerless would be convicted of their sin. Pray for comfort and supernatural peace for victims and their families.

Jesus, You know the depths of our hearts–how sinful each of us can be. We praise You for giving Your life for us, for paying the price for our sin. We pray for those who have been infected with AIDS, that they would seek and find You with all their hearts. Even though their bodies will perish, we pray that they would find eternal life in You. We pray that the Church would not be a place of condemnation for those who have sinned, but that we would be a place that freely offers Your gift of life to all who seek it. We pray for AIDS victims who contracted the disease through no decision of their own. How tempted they must be to feel forsaken by You! We pray that they would feel Your comfort and know that You are a friend to the powerless and that You will be their judge, their healer, and their redeemer. Teach us, Your people, how to be Your hands and feet in the world.

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