If you’ve never heard someone voicing the maxim ‘live and let live,’ you just may be a hermit.
‘Live and live let live’ folk are all around us. And those who express this sentiment might think it is a pretty pithy statement! In reality, it’s not.
It’s a Cop Out
The reality is that ‘live and let live’ (LALL) is a cop out. It’s a nothing burger that shallow thinkers latch onto because it’s easier than really thinking through what ‘right living’ means.
Quite often LALL comes up when a discussion turns to the topic of homosexuality. The individual who offers up the LALL fallacy (when asked about his or her thoughts on the homosexual lifestyle) will reply saying something like ‘To each his own, I always say. Live and let live.”
The proper reply to such a statement is, “Do really mean that? What you are saying is that, in your opinion, pedophilia, bestiality, adultery, fornication, transgenderism, lying, avarice, murder, stealing, and same-sex sexual relationships are all acceptable. You are saying every person gets to decide what is moral or immoral.”
The LALLer will likely respond to such question with “No, of course I don’t mean that. I just mean that if two consenting males or females choose to have sexual relations, it’s none of my business. They are not hurting anyone or forcing their sexual preferences on me, so I see no reason to object to their homosexual lifestyle.”
And with that statement the individual will probably want to rest on his or laurels. But it’s a mistake to allow the person to do that. The response to such a statement should be something like, “Do you honestly think God is okay with His children living a homosexual lifestyle after making it perfectly clear that such immorality is abhorrent to Him?”
Correcting is Not Judging
Such a comeback may have the LALLer hemming and hawing a bit before he or she recalls the ‘judging’ comeback. “Well, like Pope Francis says, who am I to judge.”
The response to this is that correcting sinners is not judging them. “Pope Francis was right in saying we cannot judge someone. Judging is for God alone. We can neither acquit nor condemn anyone.
“Calling out immoral behavior, however, is not passing judgement on the person acting immorally. We must leave judging to God, but immoral behavior is sinful, and correcting sinfulness is not judging. We are, in fact, instructed in Scripture to correct sinners.”
Scripture Says . . .
We are told:
“My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins” (James 5:19).
And St. Paul tells us in Galatians:
“Brothers, even if a person is caught in some transgression, you who are spiritual should correct that one in a gentle spirit, looking to yourself, so that you also may not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal 6:1).
While in Colossians he says:
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another . . .” (Col 3:16).
And in John 8:3-11, Jesus admonished the scribes and Pharisees for condemning the woman caught in adultery; He did not chastise them for recognizing the sinfulness of the woman’s act. Then He told the woman to go and sin no more.
Homosexual Relationships are Immoral
God’s moral laws were spelled out clearly in the Old Testament. We are told in Leviticus 18:22, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; such a thing is an abomination.” That’s pretty matter of fact.
The New Testament makes it clear Christ did not change the moral laws. In 1 Corinthians 6:-10, St. Paul says, “Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor boy prostitutes nor sodomites nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.”
Jesus Christ appointed 72 disciples and sent them to prepare the way for Him, telling them (Luke 10:16), “Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
And Jesus’ disciples, speaking for Him, tell us that same-sex sexual relationships are immoral.
A Poor Life Philosophy
All thing considered, the LALL fallacy is a pretty poor life philosophy. What’s more, LALL adherents really only apply it selectively. They use it to keep from having to deal with tough questions and uncomfortable situations.
But we must tell the Truth to those misguided persons in homosexual relationships. And we must tell the Truth to those who condone such relationships. Good Catholics and orthodox Christians need to speak up loudly and often.
Homosexual relationships and same sex ‘marriages’ are immoral, and those in such relationships are living sinful lives. So, too, are the ‘drag queens’ and those who mutilate their bodies thinking they can change their sex living immoral lives.
The devil has convinced those who think ‘gay is okay’ that it really is okay. And, sadly, some Catholic priests and prelates are ignoring such sinful relationships. Some even seem to condone such immoral behavior.
Thankfully, a number of Catholic prelates have spoken out against the blasphemy displayed during the 2024 Summer Olympic Opening Ceremonies. The intolerance of the tolerant left was on full display during the ceremony. The Vatican has also spoken out, and perhaps Pope Francis will chime in as well.
Make no mistake about it, God’s truth is unchanging. As such, Catholic teaching on homosexuality, just like Catholic teaching on adultery, murder, or stealing, is unchangeable.
Good Catholics and orthodox Christians need to proclaim this loudly and clearly. We cannot allow ourselves to be cowed by the rising tide of paganism. The consequences of not doing so are a slippery slope to perdition.
As John Stuart Mill said, “Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” One might add “or say nothing” to the end of that quote.
17 thoughts on “‘Live and Let Live’ is for Shallow Thinkers”
Live and let live isn’t agreement with other peoples’ choices, it’s the only way to maintain a functioning society. No matter what I think about your same sex relationship or support of Trump, I must tolerate your opinions in a pluralistic civil democracy. I mind my own business in the timeless words of the man who would have been a better VP than the slim majority of Americans deserve.
St. Paul’s advice (twice quoted in my article), is probably superior to Tim Walz’s.
”Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“We’ve had enough exhortations to be silent. Cry out with a thousand tongues – I see the world is rotten because of silence.” [attributed in various wordings to St Catherine of Siena]
“He who is not angry when there is just cause for anger is immoral. Why? Because anger looks to the good of justice. And if you can live amid injustice without anger, you are immoral as well as unjust.” St. Thomas Aquinas.
Guy, Texas
Gene:
Agree – God’s words are paramount, which can be found in the Bible.
Catholics have learned, by personal experience, that gay people are not inclined to pedophilia, that they can have long-term, loving relationships, and that they can make good parents. In other words, they have learned that what the Church says about gay people is incorrect, just as by personal experience in the past they learned that what the Church said was incorrect as to working women, Protestants, and Jews. By an overwhelming margin have learned that the Church was wrong about birth control too.
You must have family members and friends who are gay. Do you see anything wrong with them? Are they dysfunctional? Unhappy? Harmful to others?
You must have skipped over one of Gene’s statements:
“The devil has convinced those who think ‘gay is okay’ that it really is okay.”
Personal experience does not override God’s Truths on what is moral or immoral. Sodomy and same-sex sexual relations are grievous sins. This is divinely revealed in the Bible – God’s Word.
But in this world the devil is a big influencer when it comes to what people think and do. And too many people, Catholics included, are listening to him. He clouds their judgement and leads them off the narrow path onto the wide road. They disregard God’s Word and think they are thinking profound thoughts, not realizing that they are listening to what the devil is telling them.
Various practices and lesser authoritative Church teachings have changed in 2,000 years, but infallible teachings – teachings defined by the magisterium as divinely revealed – cannot change.
I do know people whose sexual orientation is intrinsically disordered. I pity them because they are good people in many other ways. I am also saddened because their openly sinful lifestyles may be leading others to sin. I pray for God’s mercy for them.
Catholics have learned nothing of the sort, CC.
And the fact that you’re reduced to alluding to vague, undefined “personal experience” to back up your gaslighting speaks volumes.
(And on the other side of that coin, some of the first children who were subjected to this social experiment have grown up and begun speaking out about their experiences. Take a wild guess where most of them come down on this.)
Comment Deleted (erroneous insinuation)
You are saying every person gets to decide what is moral or immoral.”
Yes, Gene, it’s what God allows under His first directive – it’s called free will. Of course, if
we’re talking about statures and laws; all bets are off.
No, OP, God has defined moral and immoral, what is good and what is evil, for us. His gift of free will means we have the choice of doing what is moral or immoral.
No, Gene, two of the four actions that make something a sin are: 1 It must be wrong, 2 you MUST KNOW that it is wrong. Making a decision that an action is not immoral means that it is not wrong for THAT person and only God can fact check someone’s heart. Free will is the gift to make that decision.
No, OP, your understanding of free will is incorrect. (FYI, there are three ingredients, not four, in a mortal sin: grave matter, full knowledge, and deliberate consent.)
We are not free to decide what is a sin or what is not a sin. God has revealed His moral laws to us, and they are also written in our hearts. We are free to obey them or not. Your definition of free will would only be correct if God had not revealed His Truths to us.
A “poorly formed conscience” does not absolve us from sin. If a person is ignorant of the sinfulness of an immoral act he commits, and his ignorance is through no fault of his own, his culpability is only less than someone who knew the sinfulness of the act. But we do agree that only God can judge what’s in someone’s heart.
The fourth is you must do it. The God you interpret in the OT said thou shalt not kill, yet
commanded the Israelites to kill – that kind of dichotomy belongs in the Trumpian sphere. Your black and white world is one of the major reasons the pews are empty but I don’t ask you to subscribe to that observation. We can end this by letting go and move on as we have done for a least a decade now. Peace.
Your fourth requirement is a bit elementary. It goes without saying. But, regardless, yes, let’s move on. If, however, you are so inclined, there is a very good tract on free will in the Catholic Encyclopedia, and the Catechism explains conscience starting at Article 6, Moral Conscience (1776).
Thanks for sharing. Too bad that doesn’t seem to work when I question teachings of our Catholic Church.
God’s teaching – His truths – are not open to question. They are divinely revealed infallible teachings, and they cannot be changed. Other teachings of the Church have lesser levels of authority. Some of these teachings are indeed open to discussion and question.