I suspect that in the very near future my middle-aged daughter is going to tell my wife and me that she is gay. She was raised in the Church of Christ but left when she went to college, graduated, and lives in the college town. We don’t get to see her much, she does avoid us. She has had several failed relationships with men, and never refers to anyone she knows as other than “my friend,” so we stay in the dark.\u00a0 Our question is, what should be our response? In a way we have already lost her, as I have implied, but what should I say at the time? Of course, my prayer is that this never happens, but all signs indicate that it will.<\/p>\n\t
I would assume that since she has already left the church, this would just clarify why she left. You do have not responsibilities to her, now that she is an adult. Paul said, “I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler–not even to eat with such a one<\/em>” (I Corinthians 5:9-11). Therefore, tell her you love her and because of that love, you cannot support her self-destruction. When she is ready to leave her sin and come back to Christ, your home is open to her. Until that day she is on her own and you will be cutting off any remaining contact with her.<\/p>\n It will be very hard to do, but it will show the strength of your convictions and the severity of her sin.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: I suspect that in the very near future my middle-aged daughter is going to tell my wife and me that she is gay. She was raised in the Church of Christ but left when she went to college, graduated, and lives in the college town. We don’t get to see her much, she does…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[35],"class_list":["post-49140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-homosexuality"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":65196,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-this-elder-step-down\/","url_meta":{"origin":49140,"position":0},"title":"Should this elder step down?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 29, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: We have a very difficult situation on our hands. I was hoping to get some advice on this. My husband and I attend the church of Christ and we have two elders at our church. One of them has an adult daughter who left the church. She was married\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33338,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-ex-husband-wants-our-daughter-at-his-wedding-but-she-has-other-plans-how-do-i-help\/","url_meta":{"origin":49140,"position":1},"title":"My ex-husband wants our daughter at his wedding but she has other plans. How do I help?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 21, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My husband left me for another woman about two years ago. We have a teenage daughter who is amazing. Unfortunately, her dad lives in another state, and she travels there for the holidays and summer break. \u00a0My husband married the other woman six months after the divorce (for which\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37011,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-daughter-has-taken-a-dislike-to-my-boyfriend-and-her-grades-are-dropping-what-can-i-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":49140,"position":2},"title":"My daughter has taken a dislike to my boyfriend and her grades are dropping. What can I do?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 28, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have two questions concerning my 14-year-old daughter: Question 1: She had her yearly adolescent check-up. She and the doctor talked alone for a few minutes, and then I was asked to come back into the room. The doctor talked about the stress of school and \"other things.\" She\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":59984,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-help-my-niece-who-is-coming-out-as-agnostic-and-gay\/","url_meta":{"origin":49140,"position":3},"title":"How do I help my niece who is coming out as agnostic and gay?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 16, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Today, my niece confided in me about coming out as an agnostic and a gay to her parents. As most coming-out stories are, she was met with disapproval from her parents as they were members of a conservative denominational church. She is distressed by this, causing her to be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8443,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-my-daughter-be-forgiven-of-her-adultery\/","url_meta":{"origin":49140,"position":4},"title":"Can my daughter be forgiven of her adultery?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 27, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My daughter went abroad to seek for better income for her family. She left her husband and children with me. But as the years went by, she revealed that she is living with another man, and they already have a child. Her kids never knew about the situation, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16975,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-almost-18-year-old-daughter-appears-to-be-seeing-a-lesbian-what-can-i-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":49140,"position":5},"title":"My almost 18-year-old daughter appears to be seeing a lesbian. What can I do?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 7, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a 17-year-old daughter, soon to turn 18. I am a single mom. Her dad lives in another state but does back me on my decisions regarding discipline. She only sees him two or three times a year so he is not really the disciplinarian. 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