The "Personally Opposed" Excuse

How often have you heard the statement, “I’m personally opposed to ______, but I won’t impose my views on others.” 

If we’re talking about something like a method of gardening or a weight loss program, this statement is fine. But when it’s something moral, it shows hypocrisy, weakness, and compromise. It’s the same as saying, “My beliefs aren’t worth defending or promoting.” 

You won’t hear someone saying, “I’m personally opposed to the murder of innocent people, but I won’t impose my values on others.” That's because murder isn't socially acceptable.(1)

But when it comes to immoral behaviors promoted by culture, people want to straddle the fence, acting as if both the moral view and the immoral view have equal validity and are simply a matter of opinion, not a matter of right and wrong.

But any Christian who tries to straddle that fence is wrong. You can't put one foot on the narrow road and one foot on the broad highway (Matthew 7:13-14). 

Paul explains the Christian response to such things:

"Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10

When Christ is our Lord, immoral things offend us, and we cannot help but warn people of their danger and seek to stop them. 

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I encourage you to read Hard Things and Stand Up and Die for two different situations when someone stood firm against enormous odds.

(1) I should clarify that our culture is in favor of murdering innocent unborn children. But they haven't yet approved murdering other innocent people.