The Marriage Amendment

There are two constitutional amendments on the ballot here in Minnesota now in 2012.  I am opposed to one and in favor of the other.  The ballot question I'll be voting "yes" on reads as follows: Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to provide that only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Minnesota.  I've been asked to add my name to an ad that will run in the Dassel-Cokato newspaper that reads: Please vote yes. Not voting is counted as a no vote.

My decision to vote for this amendment is based on God's creation. God has created and blessed this union of one man and one woman to be the one and only relationship that is potentially blessed with new human life. Marriage is unique in that respect. No other kind of relationship can ever result in the blessing of new life. Every new life has a man and a woman to thank for her or her physical existence. That is a scientific fact.

I will not stand by and be silent as some in our society desire to put an "equal sign" between this God-blessed union and other forms of sexual relationships. I see such danger here. It seems that this may be some sort of ultimate triumph for postmodernism over God's Truth. It represents the triumph of psychology and emotions over God created biology, the triumph of feelings over fact, of "conscience" over God-ordained morality.

I am under no illusions that we can create or maintain a "Godly" society here in this fallen world. Evil has always been at work among us and will continue to be among us until the end of time as we know it. Self-centered-ness has led to the practical elimination of "the children" and "family" as the reason couples join together and stay together even when things are hard. Through the innovation of easy no-fault divorce, the state has abdicated its former role in helping maintain the extended "womb" of biological family life, where children are raised and nurtured by those who conceived them. Children are no longer the "main thing" in marriage and that is tragic, especially for the kids. Mental illness and a pervasive sense of worthlessness and rootlessness seems to be taking over our lives. No, we are a LONG way from a "godly society," even with a small ambiguous "g."

Though the "state" may have been understood as an institution where people were taught to be wise, it does not do that any longer, at least in terms of family. In Minnesota, however, and in some other states, we at least still hold to God's design of one man and one woman as being essential for marriage. I'm voting "yes" because an amendment to the constitution will help Minnesota maintain that God-given definition for at least a few more years.

I'm not sure it will help at all, and I know I may be seen as heartless.  Besides, God's design for family seems to be doomed in society a whole. This "marriage amendment" may one thumb in the dike, a futile attempt to keep back a post-modern flood. But I can't imagine that doing nothing would be better, not when we hold God's plan as the standard for life.

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