Legislating Morality

Estimated reading time: 3 minute(s)

I just wanted to add a bit to one of the paragraphs below.

I think Christians make a couple mistakes. (Well, we make LOTS of mistakes, but re: this issue… a couple.) 🙂 (1) believing that we are still living in a Christian country. (2) That legislation (laws) will actually bring about a change of heart.

(1) This country was founded by God-fearing people who wanted to live out their beliefs in freedom. They were very cool Christian folks who loved God and loved each other. The revolutionary war would probably not have happened had those people not had the conviction to do what is right and honorable, no matter the cost to themselves. (IT may have, but it was certainly aided by the fact that they were led by a higher call…)

Today, we can’t do enough (as a country) to get away from God. We removed him from any public setting, claiming the "separation of church and state" is paramount. We fight hard to make sure that any reference to God is inclusive and non specific. No Ten Commandments at court rooms, obviously no prayer in schools, no religious symbols at holidays… we, as a society have decided to put God in a nice little religion box, and make sure he stays there.

(2) THEN, there are organizations like the American Center for Law and Justice that attempt to work within current legislations and to petition new ones that will keep America governed by laws based in a Christian morality. They are quite active (along with others) in protecting Christian morals through legal means. Which, on the surface … is cool.

But, that’s just it. It’s only surface. You can not legislate morality. "The law … can never … make perfect". (Heb 10:1) The law was really only to show that we could not measure up to it (God’s law, that is…) But, I think in general, the same applies to governmental laws. They protect people to a degree, but really, they are powerless to change hearts, to change thinking. They only affect outward behavior, and they can not always stop that. (That’s why we have courts that determine punishments for law-breakers… because law can not change people. So, people will break laws.)

We can not assume that if we enact legislation that either protects marriage or prohibits undesirable sexual practices that by itself that will change the way Americans think and act. That must come from another source. (From God changing hearts and minds) Laws that attempt to conform to a certain morality will only create frustration, tension, and eventually chaos.

Our battles in this country will not be won in the court rooms, or on capitol hill. They will only be won by God’s grace in living rooms and back yards and school yards and front porches and kitchen tables. To get America in line with God’s thinking on social issues… we need to get connected with Jesus. We need to live as he did, and understand the fullness of life is not in our own way of doing it, but in Jesus way of thinking and living. His laws are not laws to surpress… they are a new way of thinking – to set us free (see below – yesterday’s post).

I have said a lot.

Essentially… we can not change people’s hearts through legislation. So, an ammendment to "protect" marriage … will not.

Only God can do that.