Proponents of so-called same-sex “marriage” often argue that same-sex marriage is inevitable and that legalizing these unions, by whatever means, represents a codification of popular opinion.
I say “by whatever means” because of the inconvenient truth that every time the issue has been put to a vote, so-called same-sex “marriage” has lost. So far 31 states have voted to uphold traditional marriage. The inevitability argument is actually intended to give judges, including the Supreme Court, cover for imposing by fiat what the voters have explicitly rejected.
To that end, you can expect proponents to hype any evidence, however bogus, that people have become resigned to the “inevitable.”
That’s what happened, by the way, a few weeks ago to my good friend Jim Daly at Focus on the Family. He was interviewed by World Magazine, and at one point Daly was asked about same-sex marriage and the church. He contrasted the success of the pro-life movement among young people with the lack of success defenders of traditional marriage have had with young people. He said, “we’ve probably lost that.”
The response by same-sex marriage proponents was swift: Salon magazine proclaimed “Focus on the Family head basically gives up on fighting gay marriage.” The Daily Kos announced that “Hate group Focus on the Family admits defeat on gay marriage.” Mother Jones’s take was that Daly “seems to be waving the white flag.”
He did no such thing. He was simply acknowledging that it would be very difficult to change the mind of younger Americans on this issue. But the last time I looked, 20-somethings -- who are far from monolithic on this issue -- weren’t a majority of Americans.
The triumphalism also ignored what Daly said next: He acknowledged that Christians had done such a poor job with marriage that it hampered our efforts to defend it. And he said, “We’ve got to look at our own house, make sure that our marriages are healthy, that we’re being a good witness to the world. Then we can continue to work on defending marriage as best as we can.”
Exactly. It’s not “either/or,” it’s “both/and.”
The same Mother Jones article that invoked “white flags” noted that voters ousted three of the judges who imposed same-sex marriage on Iowa and that issue will appear on the 2012 ballot. No white flags there. In fact the only “white flags” are in the imagination of those who want to convince the Supreme Court to legalize same-sex “marriage.”
So we need to make it loud and clear, all of us -- so loud that even the Court can hear -- that we haven’t given up on mariage. In fact, we can’t! We can’t betray the truth of the creation covenant in Genesis 2, where God joined man and woman as one flesh.
Just as important, as Daly said, those who are fighting for the traditional family must set an example. If we don’t honor the sanctity of marriage, our non-believing neighbors won’t, either.
So what can you do? First, sign the Manhattan Declaration in defense of marriage. Second, get involved in strengthening marriages in your own church. Third, write a letter to the editor to your local paper. When you do, share it with me. Fourth, support organizations that defend marriage. We’ll have a list of them at BreakPoint.org.
Remember, when it comes to preserving marriage between one man and one woman, this old Marine, for one, and I hope you, will never wave the white flag.
This article published on June 7, 2011. Chuck Colson's daily BreakPoint commentary airs each weekday on more than one thousand outlets with an estimated listening audience of one million people. BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today's news and trends via radio, interactive media, and print.
