On Supreme Authority

I see that Facebook and Twitter are exploding with people's immediate thoughts on the Supreme Court's decision that same sex marriage can no longer be banned in the dozen or so states that are currently banning it. I am choosing to post on my blog rather than those sites mostly because I simply want to present my view without getting instant and emotionally charged feedback.

I am a Christian guy. The 'Supreme' authority in my life is Jesus Christ. When I got married to my wife, I didn't really care about a state license. I cared about entering into a covenant relationship with Katie. The state license came with some civil benefits, so we got one. But I don't consider what the state says about marriage to be 'moral' one way or the other. I don't look to the government to provide my moral framework.

Some people are excited because they feel granting civil marriage equality to same-sex couples is moral progress. Others are upset because they feel granting civil marriage equality to same-sex couples is evidence of moral decline. I don't really fit in either camp. Again, I don't look to the government to provide my moral framework.

Some people are in same-sex relationships. I think same-sex couples should have some civil rights (like visiting each other in the hospital). I live in a representative democracy. If the majority of the people in this country think they should have the full list of civil rights that opposite-sex couples have, then it makes sense that they'd have such rights. Whether these civil contracts are considered equal in the eyes of the government is not a moral issue in my opinion. AGAIN, I don't look to the government to provide my moral framework.

Maybe you're noticing a theme here. I don't look to the government to provide my moral framework. Same-sex couples shouldn't look to the government to provide their moral framework either. If you think homosexual behavior is appropriate, it shouldn't matter what the government says about that. And if you think homosexual behavior is inappropriate, same deal.

Until the government begins to directly FORCE ME to show approval for things I don't morally approve of, I'm not concerned. I actually think it makes sense for our nation to recognize same-sex civil unions as legally legitimate. I don't need my earthly government to be a Christian government. I already have a Christian government (the Kingdom of God).