What is Marriage?

Yesterday was a sad day for Iowa, at least in my opinion. You see, at about 9AM yesterday, the Iowa Supreme Court handed down a decision that marriage in Iowa cannot be limited to one man and one woman. Therefore, without a popular vote, or a new law enacted by an elected legislature, but simply by a unanimous vote of the appointed justices, Iowa became only the third state of the 50 United States to be a gay marriage state. Yes, our little conservative state in the heart of the heartland ranks right down there, even lower than New York and California who have not legalized gay marriage yet. There are other states who have approved "domestic partnerships" or "civil unions" but only 3 states have redefined marriage. To say I have a problem with that is putting it mildly. Am I homophobic? No, I'm not, in fact I have good friends who are homosexual. Do I think that people in homosexual relationships are unequal to heterosexuals or are worse sinners than I am? No, I don't. I personally don't think homosexuals are going to go to Hell any faster than people who steal or lie or commit adultery are. I think homosexuals in committed relationships deserve equal time off work for the death of a loved one as I would. However, I do not believe that redefining marriage to include same sex relationships is appropriate or wise or morally or ethically or legally right. I believe in a democratic society, laws should not be changed by a select small group of appointed justices, but only by the elected law-making branch of the government. I believe redefining a word does not really change it at all. Gay used to mean happy. Calling a homosexual gay does not necessarily make them happier than they were before. So why redefine it? Just because our marriage licenses will now be reprinted so they no longer say bride and groom, that doesn't mean I'm no longer a bride and my husband is no longer my groom. I had bridesmaids and he had groomsmen and they can't change that. But what will it be now? When my daughter marries, will I not be the mother of the bride? Some men are bent toward having sex with multiple partners. Does that mean we can redefine marriage so that they can have multiple wives legally and expect their employers to cover all 15 wives and 75 children on the group health insurance?

Last week our preacher said that less than 1/2 of evangelical Christians believe there is an absolute truth, an absolute of right and wrong. That most believe that truth and right changes based on the circumstances. Well, get your stones ready to stone me, but guess what? I believe there is a right and there is a wrong. I believe God is truth and Satan is the father of lies. I believe that the truth is always true and right is always right even if you redefine it or rule against it. I believe even if you legalize homosexual unions and adultery and even if everyone cheats on their income tax and every lawyer lies, that it is still sin and still wrong and God will still judge. In the Bible, God uses marriage as a picture of His love for His church. We are the "bride of Christ". So no matter how you redefine it, God created marriage and He chose the only definition that truly matters.