Even If You Should Suffer: Thoughts on the Supreme Court’s Latest Ruling
In I Peter 3: 14 we are given an essential perspective for facing the coming cultural upheaval the Supreme Court’s decision on same-sex ‘marriage’ will generate: “But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you will be blessed.” Much of the response to that arrogant redefining of the God-given, universally accepted and historically practiced “natural marriage” from Christian and conservative writers has been to warn of further efforts to punish and silence those who oppose the LBGT agenda.
The four dissenting justices (Roberts, Scalia, Thomas and Alito) issued strong opposition to the majority’s politically correct disregard of the Constitution and warned that religious freedom will come under prolonged, relentless attack. The majority knew from the oral arguments in April that approving same-sex ‘marriage’ would lead to assaults on Christian institutions and churches which recognize only heterosexual marriages but religious freedom is less important to them than ‘marriage equality.’
Such thinking is not only the viewpoint of the ‘progressive’ elite in our society; polls indicate that 60% of Americans believe people should be able to ‘marry’ whomever they choose, regardless of gender. This does not bode well for constitutional protections religious institutions have been afforded throughout our history. Refusing to recognize same-sex unions is already seen as ‘hateful’ by many and may soon be considered grounds for losing tax exempt status and expose churches and Christian institutions to punitive lawsuits. Other consequences will be developed by those bent on silencing every form of dissent from their goal of gaining not just acceptance, but also approval of their sin.
Affirming the absolutes of scripture may be costly, both to the church and individuals: we must be resolute in our commitment to be faithful to our Lord. If we waver on something so clearly expressed in the Word of God -- marriage can only be between a man and a woman, what will we waver on next? Jesus said, “…whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory…” (Luke 9:26). When the topic comes up, confirm your belief in God’s definition of marriage; do it without being obnoxious or defensive, but say it. You may be ridiculed, belittled, accused of intolerance or mocked, but remember Peter’s words: “…even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you will be blessed.”