Poll Results

I appreciate all of you who voted on our poll last week-- I realize that the subject matter was a bit unorthodox, but I would like to use this space to talk about things that really get us thinking-- not just the things that come up when our brains are in neutral.

Last week's question, which was about what you think you would do and/or feel if one of your children revealed to you that he was homosexual, was not intended to really smoke out surprising results, but to get us all thinking about applications of our relationships and faith in situations that we would probably prefer never to be in.

The overwhelming majority of you (81%) would try to reassure your child that he was still loved, and almost as many (75%) said that you would be shocked and unsure of what to do. Only two of you (12%) said that you would try to talk him out of his choice of sexual preference, but the same number said that they would invite their son to bring his boyfriend to dinner. About half of you said that you would feel angry or betrayed (43%), and exactly half of you said that you would describe your reaction as "devastated."

I don't really have any scientific analysis to offer on the basis of these responses, but I have appreciated your votes over the last week because watching the poll results come in has kept me thinking about what I need to be doing now to protect my sons from the influences which prevent them from fulfilling their potential; and about how I need to respond when they will (like I did) do things to disappoint their parents.

I'll have a new question up shortly, I'm looking forward to seeing you weigh in!