Gay Guy Gets a Card From His Grandparents: ‘Happy Birthday, You’re Going to Hell!’

One of the scariest things about coming out is not knowing how your friends and family will take the news. When it goes well and people are happy you’re living your truth, there’s nothing better. But, sadly, that’s not always the case, and some never get over it. That’s the case for Redditor PixelatingPony, whose homophobic grandparents sent him a birthday card — only to tell him he’s going to hell.

PixelatingPony shared a photograph of the card he got from his homophobic grandparents to r/GayBros with the caption “Well, a happy birthday to me from my shitty grandparents!” If you can’t quite make out the cursive, fellow Redditor VicSeipke transcribed the card:

We pray for you every day. Our God is an awesome God. I want to share a verse with you I read in Romans 6. We love you more than you want to acknowledge. We sin every day, but we have asked for God’s forgiveness and are saved by grace. We love you but not the lifestyle you have chosen. There is a difference. Grandma T.

The enclosed Bible verse is Romans 6:16, from the New Living Translation:

Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.

Romans 6:16 is a common “clobber verse,” which homophobic evangelicals use to “prove” the Bible condemns homosexuality. (Even though it kinda doesn’t.) 

Of course, r/GayBros didn’t take the side of the homophobic grandparents. Just the opposite — nearly everyone came out in support of PixellatingPony. Redditor killermarsupial pointed out that two can play the Clobber Verse game, and suggested sending the homophobic grandparents a card with 1 Timothy 2:12: “I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.” (Obviously, not a verse we generally condone.)

But our favorite comment came from Redditor countryboy432, who wrote, “I’m old enough to be your grand-dad. Let me know your birthday. I’ll send you appropriate and positive birthday greetings every year. No strings attached. You just be you. Screw that nonsense! :)”

Awwww!

How would you have handled these homophobic grandparents?

This article was originally published on July 27, 2018. It has since been updated.