God made Chely Wright.
If you believe that, why would you doubt that God made her gay? Why would you doubt that He told her to come out? Here's a woman who had prayed nightly on her knees to be anything but gay. A woman who pursued her dream to be a country music star at the cost of denying who she is. A woman who put a gun in her mouth and nearly pulled the trigger to take away the misery of living a lie.
This week, Chely Wright became the first country music performer to come out and declare herself to be gay. Country music is perhaps the last musical niche to be filled. Last month, Jennifer Knapp became Christian music's gay avatar when she came out, following Ricky Martin in Latin pop, and a string of others.
If you have ever believed that same-sex attraction is a "lifestyle choice," listen to Chely's story:
In the NBC interview, she says the turning point came when she stopped praying her third-grade prayer and started praying for a moment's peace. And then she heard, or felt as if she was hearing, the voice of the divine.
"I got on my knees and prayed to God." she tells NBC. "I heard God say, 'I expect one thing of you and that is to tell the truth.'"
Now, I don't want be a hypocrite, so let me declare that I think this is a form of words rather than a physical reality. That's my bias: I don't believe in a personal God who has conversations with his followers. Apparently, though, more than 80 percent of my fellow Americans disagree. A USA Today poll finds that 83 percent believe God not only listens to but answers prayers.
So, who among them is going to tell Chely Wright she doesn't have God's permission to be who she is? Who will tell her she may not seek love and fulfillment in the way God made her? Who among them will be the first to cast a stone?