Sports Illustrated reported last Thursday that Sue Bird, a veteran WNBA allstar “comes out.” Of course, that is the terminology used to report someone famous publicly announcing to the world that he or she is gay. My question is why are these things still being reported? Out of what was Sue Bird coming? We know that “coming out” is short for “coming out of the closet,” language used to reveal that a person who used to be a secret homosexual is not an open homosexual. And it is fair to say that five or six years ago, it was a pretty big story when someone famous, especially a famous athlete, openly admitted practicing homosexuality. But now it is hardly a story. Most people around the world accept homosexuality as a legitimate, alternative lifestyle. Same-sex marriage is legal in this country, for crying out loud. While the percentage of people who practice homosexuality is still very small, support among the people of the world is at an all-time high. Most believe that it is an issue of human rights, making opposition to it bigotry. Is it really necessary for people to exclaim to the world that they are gay? No! Sue Bird even said herself that everyone who knows her already knows about her sexual orientation, and that her being gay has never been a secret. So, why the public statement?

The only possible reason for it, and I don’t think individuals “coming out” even realize it all the time, is a continued effort to change the psyche of the people of America and legitimize homosexuality. This was the purpose of making such public confessions when famous people first started coming out of the closet. The gay rights advocates encouraged it, even to the point that those who didn’t “come out” were portrayed as being ashamed of who they really were. Now, making open statements about one’s homosexuality is just the routine thing to do, even though it is completely unnecessary. It is all still very satisfying to the gay rights movement every time a so-called “coming out” is reported. Each time it is a step forward in their quest for legitimacy.

Regardless of all this, homosexuality will never be legitimate to God. God condemns it, and there is not a movement here on earth that will ever change this fact. One by one, denominations are giving in to pressure and accepting homosexuality, but the word of God continues to say not it is not (Leviticus 20:13; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9).