Humans always seem to have a better way. If there is a law, there has to be a way around it. If there is a barrier, it must be broken. If there is a plan, an alternative must be found. This pretty much sums up human history.
In the garden there were only two trees in all of creation that were off limits. So, Satan had a better way and tempted Eve with the injustice of such an unfair restriction. Abel honored God in a way than Cain did not. The obvious solution, follow Abel’s example. Cain’s solution: kill Abel. God commanded that men should spread out across the earth and have dominion over it. The folks at Babel didn’t care for that. Their solution, hang out in Babel, build a great tower and honor their name, and not God’s. You get the picture; if God says to do something, there has to be a better way, it’s the human thing to do.
God made the institution of marriage as the key social building block for all of human culture. When children were born into a marriage of a man and a woman they were to grow up and leave their family and start a new family. Genesis 2:24 But, of course, there had to be better way. So, Lamech had two wives and the attack on God’s plan for marriage was on.
Fast forward to today. Marriage between a man and a woman has become an oppressive, discriminatory idea. America’s legislative and judicial systems have made laws and judgments based on the notion that the Bible’s teaching of marriage is archaic, bigoted and attacks the dignity of man. Like Eve, Cain, Lamech and the citizens of Babel, America has found a “better” way.
In 1996, President Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act into law. The act defined marriage for federal purposes as the union of one man and one woman. What was seen as a victory for the biblical definition of marriage quickly became a resounding defeat. The Defense of Marriage Act made the definition of marriage subject to the will of man. In the twenty years since the act was passed marriage is continually being redefined because there has to be a better way. The result: social chaos. No election can stop this search for a better way.
This is the culture that your children are inheriting. If you teach them that marriage is defined by God in the Bible you will be in open conflict with your culture and the laws of your country. Pray for the church to again be salt and light and speak the truth of the gospel. Pray for our nation to find the better way: the one found in the Bible. Once you have prayed, become part of the solution, become salt and light to a dark culture.