Same-sex marriage... a rights issue or a moral issue?

iIn the last five years, more and more governments have allowed same-sex marriage in their countries.  The U.S. Supreme Court has given a stamp of approval for it a few years back.  European countries have been a haven for people who desire to enter this kind of union.  Australians, just a few months back, through a postal vote, have voiced that they're OK with this trend.  And in the Philippines, the current president, Rodrigo Duterte, has announced in a gathering attended mostly by homosexuals, his acceptance of the idea despite saying the opposite just a few months back.  To make things sadder, even people affiliated with the Christian faith are starting to look at same-sex marriage as something good.  A pastor and his wife last November shared to me how they were shocked and left in tears when a pastor-friend of theirs from Australia, after the postal vote on same-sex marriage won in his country, described that day as "a happy and exciting time in Australia".

Why has same-sex marriage gained more acceptance in recent years?  It's because same-sex marriage proponents have made it a social issue, a question of rights, from it being a moral issue.  By lowering it to the level of a social issue, God, the source of morality, has been successfully eliminated in the conversation.  This, the removal of the standards set forth by God in terms of marriage, was a crucial goal for homosexuals to achieve as they understand that as long as God is part of the conversation, they're lifestyle will not be accepted by the public as the Bible is clear that it is wrong to go against God and "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of Him who is living (Hebrews 10:31)".  But by making it an issue of rights, then people who will be against that right will be viewed negatively, often branded as "bigots".

So, is same-sex marriage a social or moral issue?  The Bible is clear that God only ordained one type of marriage, and it is heterosexual.  From the very lips of Jesus we find this... "Haven’t you read that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’and for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh so they are no longer two, but one flesh. " (Matthew 19:4-6).  The One that created obviously has the right to dictate.  Anyone can disagree with the Creator and can even raise his fist in fierce defiance of Him.  But do we really believe we stand a chance against the all-powerful God?  God has been accused of immorality for not granting homosexuals the right "to be happy" which He has granted heterosexuals in terms of marriage.  People who have made this accusation failed to recognize that God can't be accused of immorality as morality flowed from Him as He is the One that sets what is right and what is wrong, and unfortunately for proponents of same-sex marriage, He has declared this union as "wrong".  So all the talk of "rights" not being given is insignificant here.  And if we insists on same-sex marriage as a rights issue, then pedophiles and those who want to practice beastiality (human and animal sex) can also make demands for their "right to happiness".

We cannot eliminate God in the discussion of marriage as He alone has the right as Creator to dictate how marriage is defined.  Therefore, same-sex marriage is a moral issue and not a social issue.

So in conversing with a homosexual or anyone who approves of same-sex marriage, do not be caught in the trap of making same-sex marriage a social issue.  Always insists that God is man's Creator and the Definer of marriage.  Watch the interviews in the movie Audacity and see how Ray Comfort prevents people from shifting the conversation on same-sex marriage to the social realm and staying put on the morality of the issue.

And here's one illustration about why we must let the Creator define marriage...

A young elephant saw birds flying in the air.  He realized how happy birds are with the freedom they have gliding in the skies.  And so, the elephant said, "I will fly like the birds!"  An elephant friend told him, "But you weren't made to fly.  Look at how impossible flying will be with the size of our bodies.  And although you have big ears, they are still not enough to allow you to fly."  "But I want to fly and enjoy as the birds", the young elephant insisted.  His elephant friend argued, "But we have other advantages that are enjoyable like we can reach with our noses whatever fruit we want hanging from trees.  You can do that all day long and nothing bad will happen to you compared to if you would try flying."  But the young elephant had decided that he will try flying.  And so, he went to the highest cliff he could find.  After taking a deep breath, the young elephant jumped off the cliff, plunging himself to his death.

The same is the case with homosexuals insisting that they be given the right to marry someone from the same sex.  Obviously, God had not designed marriage to be that way as procreation, a by-product of marriage, cannot happen.  And just like how heterosexual sex outside of marriage can lead to sexually transmitted diseases, sex with the same sex can also have the same result.  But sex with a person's marital partner can be indulged in with little to no risks at all of getting STD.  But if we insist on allowing homosexuals to have same-sex marriages, the greatest danger they face is how God gets back on them for going against His set standard.  In love, I don't want that to happen and so I write this article as a clear warning.

May we be wise enough to go by God's standards in our lives.

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