quote for today

"Marriage today is often nothing but a fraud. Modern husbands are proud that they don't treat their wives like doormats, and modern wives are sure that they are more independent than their mothers were. Still, women have never been sexualized as blatantly as they are today, and men have never been so casual about treating them as objects of desire. No other culture has celebrated promiscuity as openly as ours, or been so cynical about domestic abuse and neglect. Never before have people spent so much on weddings--or made such a complete mockery of them. And though the usual scapegoats are Hollywood and MTV, Christians (including pastors) divorce just as often as other people do, and adultery and abortion are just as commonplace among churchgoers as among non-religious people... "So what is at stake, and what should we do, if gay marriage is wrong, and traditional marriage is in such a mess? To me the answer is plain enough: if we call ourselves Christians, we need to step back from all the commotion and rediscover the simple truths of the Gospels. They describe, in perfect clarity, the one form of marriage worth defending and saving. More important, they mirror the unchangeable order that God established for each of us at the very outset of human history: Haven't you read that at the beginning he made them male and female? For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh...Therefore what God has joined together, let no man separate. (Matt.19:4-6) Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the churchÉHusbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy...and blameless.... In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies...After all, no one ever hated his own body. (Eph. 5:22-23) Husbands, be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. (1 Pet. 3:7) "Grappling with these verses should spur us to examine our own lives. After all, even if we are opposed to the Massachusetts ruling, its rhetoric of equality touches on an important truth. We are all equally sinners; every one of us has strayed from God's order. Man or woman, gay or straight--we all have plenty of work to do. "To begin with, we can turn the tide and show a sex-crazed world that there are still such things as loyalty, commitment, and faithfulness. If married, we can lead our wives--not by bossing them, but by loving them and turning them to Christ. If single, we can prove that there are other goals worth pursuing besides sex. We can model true manhood (or womanhood) through self-discipline and service, and show that happiness is not dependent on physical relationships. Even if scarred or embittered by divorce, we can still learn to forgive, and need not be victims forever. Even if marriage was hell for us, we can remain loyal, and pray for our ex-spouse..." "Finally, we must witness to the fact that no matter the advances of science or the morals of our time, each of us was created in the image of God, and must one day answer to him. If the furor around the Massachusetts ruling helps us to rediscover this, it may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. But let's resist the temptation to see it as a soapbox on which to stand and label others, or judge and condemn them. Instead let's use it as a chance to point to Christ, and to marriage as he spoke of it--a mystery no court on earth can define. "Forget about sexual politics. Let us rather put our energies into helping every person to find Christ. He offers the water of life to everyone who thirsts for him." --J. C. Arnold, from this site