Before last week he would hedge on the issue. He had said his position was “evolving.” But the policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell” regarding the handling of homosexual issues in the Armed Forces of the United States was overturned under his watch, and he ordered the Attorney General of the United States to not defend the Defense of Marriage Act. So when President Obama said he approves of same-sex marriage earlier this week, it was merely an announcement of what his actions have already signaled. It was not a surprise.
Some have ventured to say his statement was pressured by Vice President Joe Biden’s comments supporting legalization of same-sex marriages a few days before, and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s outspoken agreement with Biden. Whatever the impetus we can now say with certitude where the President stands on the issue and his evolution on the matter has come to an end.
Tony Perkins who is the president of the Family Research Council believes this announcement by President Obama defines the sharp difference of opinion between him and the presumptive Republican nominee for the Presidency, Mitt Romney. Perkins said, “The President has provided a clear contrast between him and his challenger Mitt Romney.” I disagree with Perkins; I don’t think the contrast is quite that clear.
Mitt Romney says we should “continue to define marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman” and then states “If two people of the same gender want to live together, want to have a loving relationship and even want to adopt children,…In my view that’s something which people have the right to do, but to call that marriage is…a departure for the real meaning of that word.” Romney seems to be concerned about how marriage is defined, but not about its role in society in raising children. Marriage should be defined as between a man and a woman, but that is not how he defines parenting.
Tricia Erickson commented “This is a great example of how Mitt Romney is trying to be all things to all people.” She added, “Romney saying he supports the right of same-sex couples to adopt in one sentence and then saying he feels marriage should be between a man and a woman in another shows he has no core convictions.” Erickson is making a good point here. It seems the only core conviction Romney has is to get elected. Of course this is no different than Obama’s core conviction to get re-elected.
Marriage is more than a definition. Before the institutions of government, education and finance were even conceived, God instituted marriage and the home. The marriage and the home have proven to be the foundational, bedrock unit of every culture and society. No human civilization has ever been predicated or prospered on homosexual relationships. That is a historical, biological fact. To the degree that any culture allows itself to be eroded by acceptance of homosexual practices, to that degree its very existence is compromised.
I do not see any clear Christian actions or convictions in Obama or Romney. It is foolish for anyone to think politics will ultimately save our country and pull us back from the brink of moral collapse. All out nation’s ill can be traced to moral and spiritual Obama is committed to another path and Romney lacks Christian conviction. What are believers to do?
In Proverbs 21:1 we read, “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.” God is sovereign in the affairs of men and that includes the realm of politics. Believers need to pray for those who lead us. We enjoy the privilege afforded every person of a free democracy to vote, and this privilege is joined by a responsibility to inform ourselves on the issues and vote our conscience. Probably the most important decisions will not involve who is elected to the Presidency, but who is elected to Congress and other offices. Whatever transpires this November prayer will remain paramount.
The Apostle Paul has wrote, “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity (1 Timothy 2:1-2).” The Christian will also exert greater influence in prayer than he will at the polls.
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