A number of Ohio lawmakers are pushing a bill designating the weeks between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day as “Natural Family Month.” They have defined a “Natural Family” as “a man, a woman, and their children.”
This bill is intended to celebrate families and emphasize the role they play in society during this era when both marriages and birth rates are declining in America. These legislators put out a statement saying, “At a time when marriage is trending downward and young couples are often choosing to remain childless, it’s important for the State of Ohio to make a statement that marriage and families are the cornerstone of civil society, and absolutely imperative if we want to maintain a healthy and stable Republic.”
Well, as you might expect, this bill has sparked a massive backlash from some in the LGBTQ community. One homosexual woman’s complaint is that “it excludes families like hers, and others who have adopted, conceived through IVF, or are raising children without a partner.”
One of the legislators promoting the bill, Josh Williams, defended it by arguing that it was not intended to be discriminatory at all, but rather designed to support the family structure that’s “most directly tied to the creation and raising of children.” He went on to state that by using the LGBTQ supporters’ reasoning, the things they wish to celebrate should also be eliminated. For instance, “You could go then to June and say we shouldn’t have Pride Month because all sexual orientation should be celebrated, not just those that are alternative to the mainstream.”
It’s actually a crying shame that these lawmakers even felt a need to put forth a bill like this – for a couple of reasons. First, why should the natural family need to be promoted at all? It is, after all, “the natural family.” That is simply how reality works. It is what naturally occurs in nature. Without it, there would be no next generation. Second, if it’s okay for people who advocate for non-biblical sexual activity to promote their preferences, why is it not okay for people who believe in biblical values to promote theirs?
But these are not the biggest problems. The biggest issue does not relate to peoples personal preferences, but to their very understanding of reality. We live in a time when homosexual behavior and gay marriage are not only viewed in pop culture as something that is okay, it is considered that anyone who does not celebrate it is immoral. That is just totally backward.
Who decided that homosexuality is okay? Is there some decree from God that approves of it? There are, indeed, people who try to use the Bible to support that position. But to do it they have to proof text verses or passages completely out of context. The Bible does not support it. In fact, just the opposite.
In actuality, the only way it can be supported as a moral point of view is for people to make up their own morality. And in modern society, that is exactly what is happening. People who embrace naturalistic worldview beliefs with its rejection of transcendent reality and its relativistic approach to morality, have simply deemed homosexuality to be moral. They have also approved of its corollary moral position, that anyone who disagrees with them is immoral and anyone who disagrees with them are legitimate targets of their wrath. Nothing to back it up, it is just deemed to be so.
Now frankly, it is not my job to dictate to other people how they view morality. I certainly believe the Bible is God’s revelation of Himself and His ways to mankind, and the Bible has very clear teachings about the nature of sexual morality – what is moral and what is not. But the job of Christians according to the Bible is share the truth about how a person can know a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. When an individual receives Christ, is it God who is responsible for doing the convincing, not me.
Beyond that, the way that a person views sexual morality is not related to how they come to know God, it is, rather, an expression of their worldview beliefs. Living morally is an expression of a person’s salvation, not its source. If their worldview beliefs correspond to what God has revealed to be reality, then they will believe and live life based on the truths taught in the Bible. If they don’t, then they will follow some other view of morality based on the worldview beliefs they choose to follow.
Either way, individuals must make their own choice as to whether they will follow God or reject Him. And in making their choice, it is also okay for them to express their opinion – and even be wrong. What is not okay is for them to promote their belief and forbid others to do the same.