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Jim
Shorts
In
arguing against homosexual marriage, U.S. Senator Rick Santorum
(R-PA) made the following comments on “Fox News Sunday,” August
3:
Marriage
is “. . . principally because of children. It's the reason for marriage.
It's not to affirm the love of two people. That’s not what marriage
is about. If that were the case, then lots of different people and
lots of different combinations could be, quote, ‘married.’ Marriage
is not about affirming somebody's love for somebody else. It's about
uniting together to be open to children, to further civilization
in our society.”
Hmmm?
I’ve been known to say silly things on live interviews, but I’m
wondering, is that what he really means? (A subsequent news releases
seems to indicate so.) And what did his wife have to say when he
got home? You’re sleeping on the couch? If the good senator, who
is also a good Catholic, would read his Bible,
I think he’d discover that love has a lot to do with marriage.
Let’s start at the beginning when God announces
to Adam “it is not good for man to be alone.” And so the Creator
made Eve--not a house full of kids. Single-parenting is not paradise!
(Please note, gay rights advocates, God didn’t make “Steve.” And
neither did He make “Eve and Evelyn and Evette and Evie.” One wife
per customer, please.)
The Bible’s Song of Solomon is a celebration of
male-female love. It’s that book junior boys sneak a peek at in
the back of Sunday school class due to its explicit description
of the woman’s anatomy. Here are some passages that can be printed
in a family newspaper:
In chapters 1 and 2 “The Beloved” murmurs:
In chapter 4 “The Lover” responds:
You
have stolen my heart . . . my bride/you have stolen my heart/with
one glance of your eyes/with one jewel of your necklace/How delightful
is your love, . . . my bride/How much more pleasing is your love
than wine/and the fragrance of your perfume than any spice!
Nothing about children in the whole book. Just
passionate, X-rated love between a bride and groom.
Throughout the Bible, marriage is a symbol of the
intimate relationship between God and His people. The Apostle Paul
writes:
"For
this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united
to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound
mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the church. However,
each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and
the wife must respect her husband.
While I’m no advocate of gay marriages, I feel sorry
for the senator’s wife if their relationship is indeed “not about
affirming somebody's love for somebody else.”
If he’s correct, I also feel sorry for the 7-13
percent of married couples who are infertile. Are they really “married”?
Are the 28.6 percent of child-bearing-age couples choosing not to
have children living in sin? And once you’re past the child-bearing
years, has the marriage fulfilled its purpose? I don’t think so!
My wife and I have two married adult children, so
I firmly believe offspring are a wonderful part of marriage.
But I’d like to think our relationship means something more
than to be “fruitful and multiply.” And now that we’ve done our
part for the continuation of the human race, we’re finding a new
excitement in our marriage--in a Song of Solomon sort of way.
© 1997 James Watkins.
At
the age of eight, Jim asked God into his life while hiding under
a roll-top desk during a lightning storm. He lived as an "under-cover"
Christian until his junior year in high school when he dedicated
his life--and pen--to trying to live out the teachings of Jesus.
He's an ordained minister in the Wesleyan
Church. Jim has sold 1500 articles, written 11 books,
and enjoys speaking at conferences throughout North America and
overseas. Visit his website at www.jameswatkins.com.
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