Perseverance Benefits the Godly and Ungodly
As believers in Jesus Christ, many of us have hailed the decision of the California Supreme Court to uphold the state’s ban on gay marriage. It became law after a majority vote of the people of California, and I personally was pleasantly surprised to see the court uphold a statute that clearly had constitutional grounds. As is often the case, the victory appears short-lived. Gay leaders say they plan to put a new measure on next year’s ballot to overturn the ban. This reminds me of my home state of Missouri. Year after year Missouri voters would vote on new forms of riverboat gambling, and year after year the voters would say no. Every time the casinos lost, they simply tried again. And when they finally won the vote simply by wearing down the opposition’s willingness to fight anymore, it was a done deal. Those against gambling didn’t attempt another ballot measure, but instead gave up.
My guess is that the same thing that happened in Missouri will happen in California. There are enough activists, mixed with enough politically correct voters that eventually the ban will be overturned. My question is whether those who oppose gay marriage will continue to keep the measure on the ballot or if they will simply give up?
As Christians we need to be slow to give up. In 2 Corinthians 12:12, Paul writes, “Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.” In order to communicate the gospel, and to prove that he had the right to do so, Paul was a persistent witness. He didn’t just ask people if they wanted to know Jesus, and then walk away. He persevered and continued to live the life of the Christian among the Corinthians, even when so few believed his message. Probably many of them told Paul that he was out of touch with the culture, that he was old fashioned, that he was judgmental. But, Paul says his message as important and he persevered.
California’s gay activists will likely persevere until they establish the perversion they seek within the laws of their state. I wonder how willing we are Christians to persevere to see holiness and salvation established in the lives of people around us. Is your witness one of perseverance? Let us continue to share the message as long as we have the opportunity.
#1 from Mark on June 01, 2009
I’m really having a hard time understanding why gay marriage has been a target of Christian politics for the past 20 years. Not one person has ever chosen to be gay. Don’t you people understand that? Do you know how much pain you cause people when you tell them they are immoral. You are driving away members of your church and people away from religion in general. Why do you think there are more atheists than ever? Why do you think there are more people than ever who don’t see religion as a top priority? Because everyone has a general sense of right and wrong, and the ideals and actions of religious fanatics put a bad taste in everyone’s mouths.
I hope the same thing that happened in Missouri does happen in California. Sometimes, it takes a greater authority to enforce what is fair onto the general public. That is exactly what happened with the emancipation of Blacks in the south and caused a civil war. This is no different. Genetics causes someone to be Black, just as it causes someone to be gay. Gay people are being discriminated against because of something they did not choose to be.