California has overturned a ban on gay marriage. This news will have Christians everywhere up in arms. Why? Because the Bible, which states TRUTH and is the inspired Word of God, teaches that marriage is one man, one woman. God has designed this so intricately and beautifully and homosexuality is an obvious blatant lie straight from Satan to desecrate and pollute what God has declared holy.
So, that's my official stance. God's stance.
However, WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT??? The couples running off to California to get married (a lot won't have far to go!) are spiritually blind and for the most part are not claiming to be part of the body of Christ.
I believe that yes, when appropriate, we should make our voice heard, but I do not think that we need to start signing more petitions, writing more letters, etc. We should all be in constant prayer over the state of our country, but I think that the best work is done through loving a spiritually needy individual and showing them Jesus. This is what Jesus Himself did all through the Gospels. He had encounters with individuals. His parables were even designed for only "he who has ears, let him hear". It is not our primary (and I use this loosely) responsibility to change the laws, keep prayer in school, keep the pledge of allegiance from being God-less. As followers of Christ, we have given up our "rights". We have no rights. We simply should do what is right in God's eyes. Pray. Share Jesus. Live by the TRUTH. And love. God knows that the "heathen" aren't following His laws. How can they? Those laws don't even make sense to them until their spiritual eyes are opened! So "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces." Matthew 7:6
So if you're concerned about the state of our country (and as a follower of Christ, you should be), pray, and seek to affect individuals with the TRUTH, don't waste your time "campaigning"!
Comments and feedback welcome.
5 comments:
I'll try to keep this as brief as possible but you may want to visit the bathroom and have a snack before you go any farther.
1. Would you be just as mad if they called it something other than "marriage?" The worldly definition of marriage has become something quite different than the Biblical definition. Would you be just as mad if they called it a "civil union" or "joint living partnership" or "domestic partnership" or "hutherforing"? Please answer that question out loud before continuing........... If you said "yes" did you know that homosexuals in Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey, New Hampshire, California, and Oregon have basically the same legal rights as married people already (minus the ability to file taxes jointly)? [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/03/03/MN7KV9PRA.DTL] Where was your uproar and anger two days ago? If you said "no" out loud to my question above and are now mad, what makes you mad at this but not "civil unions?" All they've done is changed the name!
2. Prayer is a big part of it but there still needs to be action. Perhaps you are familiar with a very unfortunate story about a girl in Wisconsin who recently died because her parents thought that all they needed to do was pray about her severe diabetes. [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,341574,00.html] Prayer goes a very long way but if no one takes any action how could those prayers be answered? If all the Evangelical Christians stayed home November 6 and prayed we would have no one to blame but ourselves if an un-Godly president/senator/[insert state official here] was elected. I am inferring what you mean by "campaigning," Sarah, but I must disagree that it is a waste of time. You tell us that as followers of Christ we should be concerned about the state of the county but then to not "campaign." What if Michelle Bachman, John Klein, Ronald Reagan, Sean Hannity, and Winston Churchill decided to only pray instead of "campaign?" Get out there and make your voice heard or the country is going to continue down the same worldly path it has been headed. Make your Christian voice heard and perhaps you can slow the run down that path or even turn it around!
3. Sarah, I am curious as to your reasoning behind "if you're concerned about the state of our country (and as a follower of Christ, you should be)." What, in your opinion, about being a follower of Christ makes one more concerned about ones' country? Countries are temporary, worldly things. Shouldn't we be more concerned about fellow mankind as a whole?
4. Why should we fight to keep "one nation, under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance? Right after you get done "pledging" your "allegiance" to a piece of cloth you worry about keeping God part of the equation? What difference does God make if you are so committed to the flag? [Reword pledge allegiance with synonyms and you get promise commitment.] Who do you have allegiance to, the flag or God? I think as Christians we should question whether or not we should participate in saying the Pledge. I for one pledge my allegiance to Jesus Christ. He comes before my country. All countries are literally "under God." He allows them to rise up and to crumble.
Thank you for your time. I believe we are "campaigning" right now.
BTW - I made up hutherforing.
Brian, can you tell me how to embed web links please?
Sean,
Rushed home to read the comment from you that I knew would be waiting.
I will refer to your points as you numbered them.
1. I agree. I have not really been mad, just aware, and sickened. I just decided to address this particular issue now because it seemed timely and I've been working up the courage to do my "political" post.
2. Most definitely action. But there is a big difference between the example you gave of the parents and girl and action against homosexuality. I was in no way saying that ALL we should do is pray (by the way, it is a common thing to underestimate the power of prayer - we do it ALL the time - who of us can know this power, really?). Some are put into a position which God has called them to of being inside the political arena, and they obviously have a great chance of influencing things. But I really think that our typical way of fighting (court battles - ie. suing the school over our "right" to pray) and petitions can be the easy way out. It's acting on our human desire to defend ourselves and too often masquerades as "holy fury". The way we can most effectively act is by changing hearts, not laws. Who cares about the laws - laws perish. Laws are for this world only. Hearts are what matter. And we have become known as those crazy evangelical right wingers based on the publicity we bring to certain issues when really, if each one of those people would commit to sharing Christ's love with someone each day, a lot more eternal stuff would be accomplished, rather than temporal stuff that could all be changed after the next election.
It is so much easier for us, I think to get all worked up and "political" about politics rather than ACT in love. So therefore we have our results. We are not known as the people who love radically. We're more known for the people who would have a fit if "under God" was taken out of the pledge. I really think that God can hold His own.
3. I agree. My reference was specific to "country" because God has placed us in this country to influence the people here. It is no accident that I was not born in Russia and you were not born in Hawaii.
(Oh wait...that's part of our country too.)
But we should most definitely be more concerned about individuals than the state of the union, so to speak.
4. Amen. Couldn't have said it better myself. And now I don't have to.
Sean,
You're a great American, my friend.
To agree with both of you, what I hear you saying is that if we act apart from prayer it's probably useless but if we don't act now we will certainly face a larger battle in the future. Actually, I think we'll continually face larger battles for the rest of our lives and I think the world (meaning secular society) is getting more evil towards the end of history as the Bible predicts.
A side note, I think we can participate in the pledge of allegiance within the framework of Romans 13, but I agree that our untimate allegiance is to God alone. Now when the country eliminates "liberty and justice for all" from that credo then we'll be in trouble and I wouldn't want to stand up for that. But I wonder if we're in more danger of idolatry for the pledge to the Christian flag?
The real question is what will we do when public prayer or a traditional (naturally ordered) definition of marriage is 'illegal'? What do we do when our practice of faith is against the law?
We love people, yes, and we pray for people individually and on behalf of a nation turned away from God.
But I think we also have to ignore some of the social laws. Are we willing to suffer and be jailed for obeying God rather than men? In fact, if a government institution makes physical accomodations and requires that foreign religious zealots be excused from work numerous times daily for their prayer rituals then I feel no compulsion to hinder my own practice of prayer, even asking those in public if I could pray for them.
And if we were marked by radical love maybe our prayers wouldn't be attacked. Maybe if we consistently lived our faith even our enemies would covet our prayers.
Another side note: Since the global warming (I mean climate change) issue is really about freedom or the lack thereof rather than environmental concerns then I pledge allegiance to practicing more love when interacting with those who have bought this lie.
Ok, lunch break is over.
-Lance
Just to add on to what I said previously, if we (the church)don't fix our own marriage/divorce/infidelity problems and repent of our own sins first we won't have any credibility with the world and we will be seen as hypocritical judges. Sorry if that sounds redundant but I felt a need to clarify and agree that our actions should encompass what both Sean and Sarah are saying.
-Lance
p.s. I have to figure out how use my identity on this blog.
Lance,
Time will tell how we act under persecution. I do think that we are headed down that path and that we will one day look back on the days we were actually able to fight for our "rights" and find it humorous we thought this was bad.
And amen on the credibility of believers. This is why grace and love demonstrated toward the lost goes so much farther a lot of times than condemning words.
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