Breathless

Sometimes, it is in the small, fleeting encounters that the universe can leave you breathless.  It seems that we need to be reminded every now and then that a person, a total stranger, can leave a lasting impression that takes only a moment to make.

Proposition 8

With the election only days away, I am bombarded with TV ads, political flyers, campaign letters, and lawn signs advocating one thing or another or one candidate or another.

I was on my way home from work the other day and as I exited the freeway, saw a group of people, including children, at the corner holding signs for “Yes on 8 Protect Marriage.”  Many were waving and yelling “Yes on 8!” and some drivers were honking in what I assumed to be a show of support.

I wonder if the people who are advocates of Prop 8, especially the ones using religious reasons for their views, truly understand how the Bible defines marriage.

Yes, the Bible does state that marriage is between a man and a woman, but the Bible also states that sex is only within the bounds of marriage.  I wonder how many of the people for Prop 8 were virgins on their wedding day?  How many of them did not live together before getting married?  How many of them have never committed adultery?  Jesus takes it even further and states that to lust after someone who is not your spouse is tantamount to adultery!  

So if people want to protect marriage, why stop at the definition of who can get married?  Why not introduce a Proposition against premarital sex, and also another one against adultery and lust?  If they truly want to protect marriage, then they should go all the way.   Christians give Christianity a bad name due to their hypocrisy.  And the sad thing is that they are teaching their children to be hypocrites as well.

Christianity is about integrity.  To claim that you live by the principles of the Bible is exactly to do that.  Not pick and choose what you think applies to you and then try to force those beliefs on others by beating them over the head with the Bible.  Jesus summarized the kind of life a Christian is to live in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7, Luke 6:20-49).   According to Jesus, the first and greatest commandment is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. . .And the second is like it:  Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-40).   I surely hope that the advocates for Prop 8 are living by these precepts.