OK, folks, let's talk about the whole marriage debacle. Not simply gay marriage, but marriage in general, what it means, what its purpose is and how it relates to secular law.
For years on end, marriage was a lifetime covenant between a man and a woman. People took it seriously. They entered into this covenant witnessed by their families, their community and their God, and they knew that it was forever. Because marriage was such a big step, and a final one, people tended to choose their prospective mates with care. They wanted to be sure that this woman would be a good and responsible wife and mother, or that this man would be a hard working provider and father. And they saved the sexual act for the marriage bed, ensuring that their children would be born in wedlock, to a couple who had made that lifetime commitment to each other.
This, unfortunately, is not the way of things today, and it hasn't been for quite some time. Finding anyone today who was raised by two married parents who are on their first and only marriage, is almost impossible. What passes for 'marriage' in today's America has become more of a business arrangement than anything Godly.
A lot of folks are saying that allowing gays to marry will 'destroy the institution of marriage.' Got news for ya, people: It's too late. The queers didn't destroy marriage; WE DID IT. When we as a society decided that our oaths to God didn't matter, when we decided our children didn't matter, when we came to the conclusion that nothing was more important than whether we were happy right now...we put no-fault divorce into law, and the former ironclad covenant was torn to shreds. At this point, allowing gays to 'marry' is on the level of throwing a match into a forest fire. The issue is far larger than that.
Even noted gay activist Dan Savage recognizes the problem, challenging us, in one of his columns, to outlaw no-fault divorce if we object to gay marriage on religious grounds. And he's right. Either a marriage is a religious ceremony, or it's a business arrangement. Secular law is not Biblical law, nor should it be. The Lord gave us the choice to follow Him, or go our own way. One cannot be forced to accept Him; we all have to come to God of our own choosing, of our own heart and our own mind. Attempting to combine the laws of God and the laws of man only ends up corrupting both.
So, how do we get Marriage back? How do we return to that lifetime covenant before God? Well, the secular 'marriage' has, as we've just discussed, been reduced to a parody of real Marriage. And that genie's not going back in the bottle. So, I propose a 'judo solution.'
The basic principle of the art of judo is to use your opponent's force against him. When he pushes, you pull. That's what we can do here, with the principle (already enshrined in law in the Sovereign State of Arizona) of Covenant Marriage. Remember, no matter what laws are passed, what papers are signed, God is not bound by the laws of man. He will decide what constitutes a Marriage in His eyes, and there's no appeal or discussion.
So, let anyone enter into a secular 'marriage.' They'll have all the legal protections and priveleges they're asking for under secular law. But a Covenant Marriage will be reserved for one man and one woman who are serious about the concept, and it may just put us back on the road to respecting Marriage again.
Thoughts?
Very good points...Nearly everyone in my family has been divorced at least once. My father has been divorced twice. I fail to see how gay marriage is going to compound the problem, and arguing that fathers will be able to marry their sons is ridiculous. I forget who made that claim but I had to laugh uproariously when I heard it.
ReplyDeleteI don't like Dan Savage, but even I have to admit that he's right about marriage. If Christians want marriage to be salvaged they're going to have to start setting a better example themselves.