Still Not Marriage

Today, as many of us know, a Supreme Court judge in California overturned Proposition 8. The state voted on Proposition 8 in November of 2008, determining that the state can only recognize marriage as between two heterosexuals. This was a bill that the citizens of California had already voted on previous to the 2008 election and was overturned by Supreme Court judges as it was today. On a political level, this is simply outrageous that one judge can overturn what the people voted as law. However, my aim in this post is not to address the politics and the misuses of power that we are witnessing in this event. Rather, what I would like to do is examine how we Christians are to view this apparently disturbing turn of events.

If this second instance of a judge ignoring the will of the people has taught the church anything, it has been the well-needed reminder that the body of Christ cannot put any hope in politics for the preservation of and/or change to godly values in the society God places us in. The church, by definition, is not a kingdom of this world, and therefore cannot expect the kingdoms of the world to do things that are compatible with the Kingdom of God. While God has ordained earthly governments to keep the peace and provide stability within society (Romans 13), governments are made up of human beings who are lost in sense and tend to reject the offer of peace and godliness that God makes available to humankind through Christ Jesus. When people are lost in sin, we should not be surprised when governments try to legitimize sinful lifestyles or break their own laws (as in the case of the judges overruling the will or the people). If the church is going to try to affect the world, our hope simply cannot be in our votes. While I believe we should vote for the most godly options when we have the chance, we must realize that unless the minds and hearts of the people living on this planet are changed toward Christ, godly values will not prevail. The judge overturning something we worked so hard to pass should remind us that we cannot create change through the powers of this world.

However, the question remains, how are we Christians supposed to handle this? I think the most important thing to remember is that marriage is a man and woman making a commitment before God to live together permanently and to pour love into each other, two becoming one flesh as God Himself is three in one. The image of God, according to the first Chapters of Genesis exists in our distinct male and femaleness. That image of God is complemented in marriage. Homosexual relations, like premarital relations, are simply off limits in God's eyes. The good news about this is that even if the state recognizes homosexual unions, it still is not marriage in God's eyes. The Godly model of a family is still preserved simply because homosexual "marriage" can never be godly anymore than premarital heterosexual sex can be godly.

Another thing we must remember is that a constitutional amendment is not going to stop the misuse of sex! I do not believe that because gay marriage is legal, will everyone suddenly begin engaging in homosexual behavior. What will change is something on the couples' tax forms (something that I'm not sure is really all that relevant). However, the homosexual lifestyle will end up being promoted as a valid alternative in public schools. What that means is that Christian students will have yet another worldly lifestyle being promoted as good. Our public schools are not places to learn sexual ethics anyways, and for the simple fact that they are being run by people without Christ. We would do well to remember that Christianity came into a world full of Roman sexual immorality. The issues regarding sexuality today are not new. Many of the Christians in Corinth, according to Paul, had lived lives of sexual immorality (I Cor. 6), before coming to Christ. We are not unprepared.

What I would like to do in ending this post is to reaffirm the fact that God loves homosexuals. The sin of homosexuality is no worse than any other sin. Jesus paid for all sin at all time and is fully capable of cleansing everyone who comes to him. As Christians we cannot pick on homosexuals or homosexuality. We need to love them as Christ loves us in our sin. We need to be the kind of Christians a friend who is struggling with homosexuality can come out to. We need to love and support those of us who struggle with it while maintaining our Christian standards. It is my personal belief that rather than going on the campaign trail and trying to change the law again (which will be overturned again), our Christian mission would be best carried out by doing the work of spreading the gospel. Find the nearest person who is homosexual and be their friend. Love them like Jesus. Hang out with them, help them paint their house or mow their grass. Win them to Christ because he loves them.