Being an election year there is a lot of talk not just about the candidates, but about the state of our country in general. For concerned Christians much of the focus seems to be on two particular issues: One is our leader's advocacy for the gay-lesbian community when it comes to marriage. A second issue is what is viewed as an infringement on religious freedom in the implementation of certain aspects of the current administrations health plan. In question is whether religious organizations should be required to fund abortions. These two issues both generate a lot of emotion. I have heard more than one friend express that our nation is doomed if we continue down this path.
I don't want to downplay the importance of these issues. I must admit that I am concerned to. I have very strong feelings, especially when it comes to the right for a gay-lesbian couple to be married. I hold firmly to the biblical perspective that God desires that marriage is a sacred union between one man and one woman. That plan is made clear in Genesis 2 and reinforced throughout scripture.
In my mind, however, you cannot legislate morality and values. Those will always be personal. In other words, I cannot allow the opinions of other people to change who I am and what I stand for. The author of Romans compels us "Do not be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Romans 12:2) To me that means I am to live in this world, but never be like this world. That is a stance that believers have held throughout history. Lot faced it when he chose to live in Gomorrah. Daniel was confronted by it when he was forced to live in Babylon.
As Christians we have the responsibility to vote for those candidates who views best reflect our value system. As parents and older adults we also need to hold firmly to what we believe is "right in God's eyes." Along with that, God holds us accountable to teach those values to our children as well. As with other sins, we called by Jesus to, hate the sin but love the sinner.
Great post! You're right about morality. On one hand, laws against murder are "moral" laws, but there's some level of debate in the philosophical realm about what kind of issues you can actually legislate. Clearly you can make a law preventing one person from harming another, but can you make a law preventing someone from harming themselves? There are very few laws out there like that...seat belt laws being one of the few! Without drawing too tenuous of a path, does a homosexual couple getting married really harm anyone? The same argument is made for things like legislating against pornography and more. The counter-argument will always rely on being able to show that such an action truly does harm someone. There are many who say that there is no such thing as a victim-less crime.
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