Marriage should be honored by everyone, and husband and wife should keep their marriage pure. God will judge as guilty those who take part in sexual sins (Heb. 13:4 NCV)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Conservative leaders voiced dismay Wednesday at news that Mary Cheney, the lesbian daughter of Dick Cheney, is pregnant, while a gay-rights group said the vice president faces "a lifetime of sleepless nights" for serving in an administration that has opposed recognition of same-sex couples.

Mary Cheney, 37, and her partner of 15 years, Heather Poe, 45, are expecting a baby in late spring. Mary and Heather's decision to have a child is an example that families in America come in all different shapes and sizes. The bottom line is that a family is made up of love and commitment (The Salt Lake Tribune, Dec. 14, 2006).

There is and always has been since the start of marriage by God in the Garden of Eden an assault on the sanctity of marriage. By marriage, I mean the sacred union of oneness between a man and a woman.

Opponents seek to redefine marriage. Gay marriages are promoted and even recently we have seen polygamy in the news with the arrest and trial of polygamous sect leader Warren S. Jeffs.

But God makes it clear – Marriage between a man and woman is to be honored among all. All other situations imaginable that the corrupt human nature can conceive of that is outside of God’s plan, the bible says in Hebrews 13:4, “God will judge.”

Now, I know that the opponents would say, “But marriage among heterosexuals does not work very well either when it comes to raising kids and staying married. Just look at how many couples end up getting a divorce. And notice how many fragmented heterosexual families are out there. So how can you say Rich, that heterosexual marriage works best when the data shows that it has a very serious track record?”

The breakdown of traditional marriage and the family in this country does not mean that traditional marriage and family is somehow broken. It simply means that the rules and principles that God has given to govern and orchestrate a successful marriage and family are not being followed.

God says to husbands, “Love your wives as Christ love the church and gave Himself up for her” (Eph. 5:25). God tells wives to “Submit to their own husbands, as to the Lord” (Eph. 5:22). God further tells kids to “obey their parents in the Lord for this is right” (Eph. 6:1). If these rules are not obeyed and seriously worked on in a committed manner, there will be fractures and breakdowns within marriages and families. Again, this does not mean that traditional marriages and families where there is a father and mother are becoming obsolete. Attention is to be on the participants within marriages and families. These are the responsible parties. The failure to live according to the standards set forth in the bible in making a marriage work and families successful is not to be tied into redefining marriage and family.

Here’s what’s happening. We are not able to measure up to God’s standards for marriage and family, so we have chosen to redefine marriage and family in order to bring it down to our level of living. Rather than rising up to God’s standards, we have chosen to lower the standards for successful marriage and family by redefining what is a marriage and what is a family.

We must not try to be politically correct. We must not try to be politically cute. Make no bones about it – Traditional marriage between a man and woman is an institution ordained by God and should be honored AMONG ALL. This is what Hebrews 13:4 states. Those who try to buck this institution and redefine it so as to engage in all sorts of deviant behavior, the passage says, “God will judge.”

What does this mean? Two things: Success in this life will not be possible, because God’s hand of mercy and help will be drawn away, and second, success in the life to come will certainly be met with wrath. So even if alternative unions do somehow succeed to a degree here and now, the eternal outcome will be one of judgment.

Let’s take our three branches of government. We know for certain that the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches have had some rotten apples, both past and present. However, should we rally and suggest that all three branches of government should be redefined? The Office is still considered sacred and holy even if someone who occupies it is less than admirable and successful. It is not the fault of the Office or branch of government, it is the fault of the ones who are in it.

Let the politically correct crowd fire off their name calling – homophobes, bigots, mean-spirited, etc. That’s okay. It doesn’t change what God says is right. Truth is not culturally defined, it is biblically known and understood. We are not to give in. We are not to be intimidated. We are not to buckle under the pressure to conform.

We are to seek to better our marriages and families. We are to practice what we preach, because this surely helps our cause and gives God a good name. But even in our feeble attempts and failures to have successful marriages and families, we must honor and uphold traditional marriages and families. If we cannot agree on this, it doesn’t change the truth of what God says about marriages, families and the certainty of judgment on those who do otherwise.