Religious leaders and people of faith from the Nashville, Tenn., area gathered on Sunday night to pray for the nation and raise awareness about the importance of honoring God in marriage.
Over 300 people attended the “Honor God, Honor Marriage” event hosted by the Awareness Group, an organization working to raise awareness on hot-topic items regarding cultural issues affecting lives, families and futures.
Recently returned from celebrating his 38-year marriage anniversary, Larry Tomczak opened the evening with an introductory message.
“This event is an opportunity for Christian leaders and people of faith to affirm marriage,” he stated in an interview prior to the event.
Michael Brown, internationally known author and host of the radio show In the Line of Fire, shared why marriage matters during the two-hour event.
The Danger of Redefining Marriage
The current definition of marriage, according to the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, is “the relationship that exists between a husband and a wife; a similar relationship between people of the same sex; [or] a ceremony in which two people are married to each other.”
This differs from previous definitions where marriage was defined as a union between a man and a woman “till death do us part.” If marriage is not a lifelong commitment, what does it mean?
“When marriage gets redefined, it has massive implications. Do not lose the battle for the meaning of marriage,” Brown cautioned.
Chipping Away at the Foundation of Marriage
“If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Ps. 11:3, NASB).
According to Brown, the erosion of marriage began in the 1960s with the introduction of birth control pills, which changed sex from procreational to recreational. Then came no-fault heterosexual divorce, which started the rampant destruction of marriage. Next began the practice of cohabitation. Who needs marriage when you can get divorced the next day?
If Marriage Is Not Between a Man and a Woman, Why Limit It to Two Individuals?
Currently, there are many variations of marriage in the nation, including polyamory, polygamy, open marriage and incestuous relationships. To make matters worse, the news and media promote and even celebrate these relationships.
To demonstrate this point, Brown shared stories of marriages recently in the news, including the woman who married herself, the woman who married her dog and the woman who married a building.
In response to these, he stated, “It’s not marriage. It’s no more marriage when it’s two men or two women than [it is with] the woman who married the building or a man marrying a dog. Once you redefine marriage, anything goes.”
John Snow, pastor at Peytonsville Baptist Church in Thompson Station, Tenn., stated, “This [event] was eye-opening. I am disappointed to hear about the things that are already going on in our nation. That it has gone that far and we haven’t done anything about it stirs up a bit of boldness in me.”
What Can We Do?
“Marriage is to be held in honor among all” (Heb. 13:4).
College students Jared Taylor and James Gadomski were among the attendees at the event. In each of their lives, this topic strikes close to home. Gadomski is roommates with a pro-gay-rights activist, and Taylor has friends or acquaintances who are involved in homosexual relationships.
They face conflicting attitudes, such as, “Love is love. What’s the big deal?” or “Our relationship doesn’t affect you, so why do you care what we do?” In a time when more and more people like Taylor and Gadomski are confused about why they should take a stand for traditional marriage, it is important to have a solid biblical understanding of it.
“This is a wake-up call to the sleeping church of the United States and to all of us who are pastors and leaders,” Ray McCollum, senior pastor at Celebration Church in Brentwood, Tenn., commented. “I believe we must recapture the vision of being God’s voice in the culture with courage and steadfastness—administering the truth in love, but ministering the truth.”
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