God Don't Make ...

God Don't Make No Trash
From Bare: A Pop Opera Cast

I'll talk to you the other side of this song ...

SISTER CHANTELLE
You don't have to say another word, you just listen to me.
 

PETER
Sometimes it seems-
 

SISTER CHANTELLE
You don't have to say another word, just listen to me!
When God sits on his mighty throne
And says 'what shall I make today?'
He don't grab a drawing board
There's ain't no mistakes, the man don't play
He simply opens up his heart
Out come tumbling works of art
God don't make no trash

PETER
That's nice of you to say, but I-

SISTER CHANTELLE
Come on, baby, shut up.
God don't make the same, y'see
Or everyone would look like me
People need to start to think
It ain't a rainbow without the pink
Stupid folk play in judge and jury
They're the one that's gonna know God's fury
Cause God don't make no trash

PETER
I'm gonna be late, so-

SISTER CHANTELLE
Boy you better believe it
That God is on your side
He'll be your strength, your rock, your truth
Your everlasting guide
Boy you better believe it
Some folks will act the fool
So caught up with hate
That they forget the golden rule
Boy you better believe it
You're who you need to be
'Cause love is love, love is truth, love is God
And love will set you free
People point a finger
You feel free to point it back
Two folks want to fall in love
With no one hurt, what's wrong with that?
God is love all the time
Search your heart and I think you'll find
God don't make no trash
And if you're wondering why I'm a fan
It's 'cause there's a black woman inside the soul of every gay man
God don't make no,
God don't make no,
God don't make no trash!

PETER
Everything is just so confusing.

SISTER CHANTELLE
Peter...
Nobody has all the answers
Remember the message well
If you hide from yourself
Be someone else for someone else's sake
That would be the greatest mistake

Now say goodbye.

And Peter, remember

God's got your back

And so do I 

Joe and I saw Bare, the play this song comes from, a couple of years ago when it was being performed over at Hart House Theatre at the UofT. We enjoyed the performance, but this song really stuck out for me, it reached a very deep place inside. It was a song I needed to hear. I play it every now and then, even though this isn't my kind of music, because it still speaks to me..

We've been told, us gay folk, for so long that we aren't part of God's family, not part of God's plan. We've been told that our lives are worthless, our love is sinful and  our souls unredeemable. We've be assailed by billboard reading 'Kill a Queer for Christ' and placards proclaiming 'God Hates Fags.' 

Most people I know don't understand why I believe in a God that doesn't believe in me. It's hard for me to explain. But as a young boy I found faith, I found comfort and I found a very deep love. Those things are experienced in the silences of my life -  when the silence is broken by voices that tell me that who I am represents a threat to all that's good, I retreat to silence. I retreat to the question, 'Are you still there?'

And so far ... the answer has always been 'yes.'

So I share this song with others who need to know that God Don't Make No Trash. It's as wonderful to hear as it is hard to believe. But my faith begins with silent affirmation, and I pray, that's where it will end.