Our Fifteen Minutes

Some battles must be fought. One such battle is the battle for marriage taking place in Florida. This November, we will vote on Amendment Two, a citizen sponsored drive to define marriage as between a man and a woman. The following is the article I posted in our church's July Newsletter, The Way.

Napoleon once said that in every battle, there is a fifteen minute window of time when the conflict is at its peak. Whoever wins during that fifteen minutes, he said, wins the battle. In the state of Florida, and across our country for that matter, the “fifteen minute window” is now. There is a battle for the heart and soul of the age old institution created by God known as the family. What is a family? How should we regard the family in society? Is the family a union which revolves around the marriage of a husband and a wife or is the family any combination of any number of people of either gender? And most importantly, why does it matter?

This November, voters will be going to the polls to vote on a number of issues. One of those issues will be an amendment to the Florida constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman. “Amendment Two” as it is known is worded as follows: “Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized.” It could be that the most important issue will not be who we elect to congress or the oval office, but how we decide the issue of family.

As a church, we are not in the business of endorsing candidates. We are forbidden from doing so as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, but more importantly, we are too busy with the great commission to even desire doing so! If I believed that our nation’s problems could be solved with political solutions, I would resign as pastor and run for congress. We have every right, however, to speak out on issues in which Scripture clearly speaks, even when those issues intersect the political realm. As your pastor, I want to plead with you to do your part to see to it that Amendment Two passes this November.

Unfortunately, there is much confusion on this issue. Some see it as denying rights to those who practice homosexuality. In reality, no one is denied a single right by this amendment. This amendment merely keeps activist judges from creating a right which does not exist. Some who actually understand the biblical definition of marriage fail to understand why this should be a public issue. “Isn’t the definition of marriage primarily a religious issue? And as a religious issue, should our religious view of marriage be codified into law?” some will ask. But there are many reasons why marriage should be legally protected. Although marriage is a holy institution created by God, it is also an institution in which there is tremendous public interest. I would like to state a few reasons why.

First of all, marriage should be protected because marriage between a man and woman benefits society. For example, there are thousands of studies that indicate that children do better when they have a mother and a father in the home. These same studies also reveal that children in homes with homosexual “parents” do not fare as well. Simply put, children need a mom and a dad.

You cannot talk about same sex marriage without talking about the well being of children. If same sex marriage becomes law, then all laws banning homosexual or same sex adoption will be struck down. When same sex marriage was legalized in Massachusetts, one Catholic adoption agency, one of the largest in the nation, had to shut down rather than be forced to facilitate adoptions for homosexual couples.

“But what about divorce?” some will ask. While it is true that many single parents do an admirable job raising children alone, no one can deny that overall, children in single parent homes face struggles that other children do not. The fact that some children must bear this burden does not mean that we should saddle thousands of more children with an additional burden! Furthermore, if same sex marriage becomes legal, no language in your child’s public school sex ed class will be off limits. “Heather Has Two Mommies” and “Daddy’s Roommate” will be standard reading for elementary students with parents having no recourse except to remove their children from public school altogether.

The state also has an economic interest in promoting traditional marriage. One columnist, Maggie Gallagher, put it this way: “There is scarcely a dollar that state and federal government spends on social programs that is not driven in large part by family fragmentation: Crime, poverty, drug abuse, teen pregnancy, school failure, mental and physical health problems.” All of society benefits when traditional marriage is promoted. And by the way, it is common practice for our government to reward behavior which is beneficial. Because home ownership is beneficial to the economy, there are tax breaks for those who buy homes and pay interest and no such breaks for those who pay rent.

Another reason to vote yes on Amendment Two is because of the legal game of dominoes that will follow the legalization of same sex marriage. Once the definition of marriage is changed, there is no legal basis, no authority by which other types of marriage can be banned. As we have seen in the news recently, there are many polygamists in Texas, Utah and other regions of the country who are waiting in the wings. “Who are you to say that the loving union we enjoy is not worthy of respect under the law?” they will ask. “By what legal basis can you say that marriage is the union of only two persons?” Once that threshold is crossed, there is no turning back. This is why in nations where same sex marriage has become law, marriage has essentially become meaningless. Couples no longer marry, they merely co-habitate, because marriage loses its significance.

Perhaps the most disturbing result of same sex marriage is the threat to our religious liberty. Record this in your permanent memory bank: In every country/state where same sex marriage has become law, attempts to criminalize opposition to homosexuality have followed. Churches that speak out on this issue can be fined and their pastors arrested. Churches that do not allow same sex ceremonies on their property can be punished. Do you honestly trust the gay rights crowd when they tell you that they will not take us down this path, that America will be the first nation with same sex marriage to not criminalize opposition to homosexuality?

We are in our fifteen minutes. Of course, we know that the real solution to this dilemma is not simply to fight same sex marriage. Our battle plan is to lovingly reach out to homosexuals with the hope of the gospel and teach them how to experience real, Biblical change. My friend Tim Wilkins is a former homosexual who has helped hundreds, if not thousands of homosexuals find freedom in Christ. As Tim often says of this issue, “We need less heat and more light.” Yes, we should vote to protect traditional marriage. Yes, we should love homosexuals, even those who will not return that love. It’s not an either/or proposition. It is both.

In the weeks and months ahead, our church will be providing materials outlining even more reasons why we should adopt Amendment Two. I encourage you to take these materials and share them with others. And I look forward to the day when my red car is not the only one with a “Yes on 2” bumper sticker in our parking lot on Sunday morning! I ask you to register to vote, encourage everyone you know to register to vote, and then cast those votes in support of this amendment. Our state will reap the blessings for years to come.