A North Carolina man says a four-decade friendship ended overnight after a private conversation about children, faith, and values turned into a public dispute.
Timothy Wiggins shared that he and a longtime friend stopped speaking after Wiggins offered his opinion on the friend’s 6-year-old grandson and questions surrounding sexuality.
According to Wiggins, the discussion began when his friend asked for his thoughts about the child.
Wiggins said he answered honestly and focused on childhood innocence and traditional activities. Wiggins wrote:
“At 6 years old his grandson should be playing with a football, baseball, soccer ball or basketball ball,”
He further added that children should not be pushed to make adult decisions at such a young age.
Wiggins emphasized that his stance came from his Christian beliefs and concern about what he sees as cultural pressure placed on children.
He said he does not harbor personal animosity toward gay people but believes sexuality should remain private and not promoted to minors.
“I don’t care if you’re gay,” he wrote.
“Just don’t push your beliefs so hard and display them so openly to your children and grandchildren.”
He went on to argue that television, video games, movies, and schools increasingly influence young minds and blur boundaries between childhood and adulthood.
“This country and this world has gone to hell because families don’t teach family values and morals anymore. It’s so much easier for parents to put a device in their hand instead of teaching them about life.”
After sharing his opinion, Wiggins says his friend unfriended him and sent what he described as an “ugly message,” effectively ending a friendship that spanned more than 40 years.
Rather than keeping the disagreement private, Wiggins chose to speak publicly and said he would not apologize for being honest.
“If any more of my friends or my family wants to unfriend me for being honest about this issue then feel free to,” he wrote, adding that everyone must ultimately answer for their own choices.
The post drew strong reactions, largely from people who supported Wiggins’ perspective.
One wrote that adults should be able to hold respectful conversations despite differing opinions and called the unfriending and harsh response juvenile.
Another said he would never unfriend someone over what he described as shared values and urged others to read the Bible.
Several others responded with brief but emphatic messages of agreement, such as “Agreed” and “Amen.”
Some commenters shared personal experiences.
One recalled an encounter at a grocery store involving a father and young son, saying she was shocked by what she perceived as encouragement of gender expression at a young age.
One said Wiggins simply answered a question honestly and framed his comments as faith-based truth, adding that asking for an opinion and then reacting angrily showed intolerance for disagreement.
Not all responses were one-sided. One commenter asked Wiggins whether he would still love and accept his child if they were gay, stressing that a child’s choices do not negate a parent’s love or faith.
In reply, Wiggins reiterated that his concern centered on promotion and institutional acceptance rather than individual worth. “I had no problem if you’re gay,” he responded. “I just don’t think it should be pushed on our youth or made into holidays or taught in schools.”
The discussion expanded further into theology, with one writing about what he called “perpetual sin” and the need for repentance, while others echoed the belief that speaking hard truths is an act of love rather than judgment.
One said people make their own choices and will ultimately answer to God, while another noted the difficulty of balancing love with truth in a divided society.
Wiggins said losing someone he worked with for many years was painful, but he stood by his words and beliefs.
He closed by reminding readers that choices and values carry consequences beyond the individual. “No matter what choices you make in life,” he wrote, “they all affect you and your family one way or another.”
