Are You Willing to Stand for Marriage After a Court Ruling?

By Penny Young Nance, Special to CP Monday, June 10, 2013

The Supreme Court is reviewing challenges to state and federal laws that define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Lower courts ruled against these marriage laws, so now the Supreme Court has the opportunity to uphold marriage and return authority for marriage policy to citizens and their elected representatives, or step in as judicial despots and cut the debate short by making a broad stroke ruling. And pastors and conservative politicians are stuck in a game of "Would You Rather?"

Would you rather address the issue of sex trafficking or marriage? Sex Trafficking.
Would you rather talk about abortion or the definition of marriage? Abortion.
Would you rather talk about financial responsibility or marital responsibility? Easy choice.

We are losing battles as Christian conservatives follow their leaders into no man's land -- the land of not actually saying what you believe, where no man is offended because no man actually says anything. The issue of marriage is the perfect example. Many feel it is just too hard to talk about this issue. As it becomes more and more politically incorrect to support marriage only defined as the union between one man and one woman, many have decided to be silent in this area and just focus on other things. "Love," they say.

We all have friends and family who are homosexuals and we love them. We feel for them and we care deeply about their well being. As Christians, our whole belief system is summarized in loving God above all and our neighbor as ourselves. And that is our chief objective.

We know there is a growing proportion of believers who seek to live peacefully in this world yet have a growing realization of their place on today's frontlines. We are unable to feign ignorance any longer, as those who touted 'tolerance', unabashedly refuse to tolerate our belief system.

We have now seen Christians forced to betray their deeply held religious beliefs in order to support this new found "right" to same-sex "marriage. We have seen a New Mexico Court of Appeals charge a Christian photographer who refused to service a gay wedding with violating state discrimination laws. A United Methodist Church was punished for refusing to allow same-sex weddings in one of its facilities, the judge finding the need for, "some intrusion into religious freedom to balance other important societal goals." There is simply no way around the clash between our deeply held religious beliefs and the imposition of same-sex marriage by government force.

It is clear that conviction must take place in order to follow after Jesus no matter what the cost. So we pondered. What would clearly elucidate the idea that we as Christians weren't looking for a fight but yet we were ready to stand up for our beliefs? We deliberated and decided on "Willing". The "Willing" campaign was born out of 1 John 3:16 which says, "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. So we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." "Willing" challenges us to live that. It challenges us to give. Give of ourselves, even when it hurts.

We want to remind people that the hostility of the world should not surprise us. Jesus told us, "If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:20). We want to remind them that we don't get to choose where the enemy attacks us. We must remain faithful and fight the fights before us.

We can try to ignore the problem and take the easy way out, but God makes it clear: "I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back" (Hebrews 10:38). So we want to raise up a generation that in the midst of so much opposition, stands for Christ and His teachings; shining a light in our culture. A generation that is "willing."

And for all my Libertarian friends, don't feel left out. Marriage is society's best guarantee of a limited government that stays out of family life. Make no mistake, marriage is society's least restrictive means of ensuring the well-being of children.

You and I deserve to have the debate. We'd rather not have the Supreme Court step in and try and decide for a nation how it feels on an issue so important, like it did in Roe v. Wade, forever affecting the ability of states to decide for themselves the public policy best for its citizens. We want traditional marriage preserved and supported in law and culture.

It's time to preach to the choir, because the choir has stopped singing truth and has instead taken up a politically correct tune deafening our culture to the reality of what's at stake. As Martin Luther put it, "If I profess with the loudest voice the clearest exposition, every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the Devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christianity."

As Believers we are called not just be a light to this world, but also to be the salt of the earth and preserve our culture by thwarting threats to society's foundations and threats to anyone's religious freedom.

Marriage is the special union crafted as a holy covenant between a man, a woman, and God. Marriage is the only institution by which our children are conceived and the best in which to raise them. Marriage identifies the recognizable authority of a mother and a father who are ordained with the responsibility of rearing the future generation. We could never grant these same responsibilities to two heterosexuals who simply live together because marriage is more than a living arrangement. When the government broadens the definition of marriage beyond its traditional parameters, children, communities, and governments suffer. We are already suffering from a 43 percent out of wedlock birth rate in this nation. Anything that further erodes and diminishes marriage must be avoided for many reasons, not the least of which being the incredible damage wrought on our society.

The time has come to decide whether you will be the David to this Goliath in our culture. Are you willing to sacrifice your time to educate yourself on the statistics that back up our Biblical beliefs? Are you willing to sacrifice your energy to speak truth in love to those who question your beliefs? Are you willing to choose this day whom you will serve?

Whether the Supreme Court rules to uphold the Defense of Marriage Act or not, our mission does not change. We know there is a battle raging, but our 'great commission' with Christ has given us the ability to equip ourselves and be willing to engage. Where the battle rages, loyalty is proved. That one point of loyalty may be different for each of us. It may be marriage, abortion, national sovereignty, religious liberty, fiscal responsibility, support for Israel, or freedom of conscience. Your belief is personal, but your profession of faith must be public. While the Supreme Court, your state, and your local school board can redefine America's laws, they can never redefine God's law. We are willing. Are you?

For more information on the Willing Campaign please visit Willing2Stand.com.

Penny Young Nance is the president of Concerned Women for America (CWA) and CWALAC. Nance most recently served as President of Nance and Associates and as Special Advisor for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), where she advised the Chairman and the Commissioners on media and social issues. Before joining the FCC, Nance was founder and President of the Kids First Coalition, a non-profit organization focused on educating Capitol Hill, the media, and the public on a variety of issues related to children.