A Peaceful Relationship

It's cool how Paul promotes a peaceful (and thereby a blessing, edifying) relationship, because he's concerned not about whether it's right or wrong, but for the spiritual well-being of Christians with a desire to marry. It's his advice, a proverbial wisdom, rather than a Levitical law; and this speaks to me because Paul really cared for them and understood their position. The advice didn't come in the form of harsh rebukes.

Another thing I realized was that family's happiness reflects spiritual happiness too. Paul says that marriage comes with certain responsibilities, but that these responsibilities ultimately lead to peace in the family. For a lot of us, home is synonymous with family, and that is the place where we seek comfort and love. If there is no peace at home, it is bound to reflect elsewhere in a person's life.

Speaking of marriage, I voted Yes on Prop 8 today. It's sad that the No campaign is avoiding the terms "gay" and "lesbian" to focus on how Prop 8 would undermine a basic human right. Marriage is instituted by our Creator, and a court ordering that same sex marriage is not legal could only mean that we'd be forced to accept (note that accept is different from tolerate) this perverse form of relationship "whether we like it or not". (In the words of Mayor Gavin Newsom of SF) To me, it's not an issue of being unfair, or a threat to our rights - it's about our basic moral and ethical values that we need to protect. But regardless of the outcome, there's no doubt that the Christian community needs to understand and welcome the gay and lesbian community without passing harsh judgment on them. (But that's where we need to draw a clear boundary. This is outside the premises of Prop 8.)