2016 | Week of July 18 | #1160

Do you know where you were and what you were doing 10 years ago this summer? I sure do. I and our entire Wisconsin Family Council team were right in the middle of conducting the campaign to pass the Marriage Protection Amendment in the fall election. It was an extremely busy time. And it was, quite honestly, an extremely tense time as we moved ever nearer that first Tuesday in November.

The pollsters were saying Wisconsin was going to be the first state in the nation to defeat such an amendment. Those opposed to the amendment were doing everything in their power to make sure came true, to convince people statewide that we didn’t need to protect marriage with an amendment. Marriage in Wisconsin, they said, was just fine; this state would never see marriage include persons of the same sex. We didn’t know what we were talking about; we were just fear-mongering to win on election day and should be ashamed.

I remember some sleepless nights, nights I spent praying for God’s intervention and blessing—for His glory and the good of His people. On Election Day, God honored those prayers and our work—and the prayers and work of thousands of people around the state who knew what was at stake and that we weren’t lying nor were we fear-mongering.  Nearly 60% of those who went to the polls that day, said yes to protecting God’s plan for marriage. The pollsters and those opposed were dumbfounded.  We rejoiced in God’s goodness.

All the while, however, we knew our work was not done. We knew marriage was not really safe, not while the other side had money, which they always do, and while the courts were leaning liberal and activist in so many areas of the country.  But we did think the amendment would be good for more than ten years, a decade. That wasn’t to be, however, as those dedicated to advancing their insidious agenda of, in my opinion, sexual anarchy and the utter destruction of the institution of marriage, filed lawsuits across the country in friendly liberal federal courts—and those courts happily ruled marriage protection amendments unconstitutional. Wisconsin’s day came in June 2014.

All this came to a head around the nation on June 26, 2015, when the US Supreme Court on a 5-4 vote overturned the votes of over 1.2 million Wisconsin voters and over 40 million voters nationwide and forced same-sex marriage on every state.  It took less than 9 years.

I’m not just going down memory lane aimlessly here. I am keenly struck that in this summer of 2016—just ten years after we passed our Marriage Protection Amendment–most of my time and effort and my prayers have gone trying to stop units of government and schools from allowing boys to use the girls’ restrooms, locker rooms and showers and vice versa. Wisconsin school districts see nothing wrong with this; city, state and county governments see nothing wrong with this in public buildings.  Some would like to force this on private businesses, and I’m sure eventually on churches and private schools, be they religious or not.

I’m appalled. I’m outraged. Our organizations are standing up, showing up, and speaking up everywhere we can. We’re the only ones in the state doing so. We’re doing everything we can to push back against this dangerous and dastardly agenda—just ten years after we were ridiculed and accused of fear-mongering regarding marriage. Just ten years.

What’s most alarming to me in this summer of 2016 is how quiet Christians have been on this issue. In the ten years since we passed the marriage amendment, have we too been hoodwinked by the culture into thinking anyone can be whatever they want to be and we all must quietly accept it, ignore it, or whatever?  Are we afraid? Afraid of ridicule? Are we just ignorant of how insidious this transgender issue is? Have we decided God’s plan and His Word are no longer worthy of our defense?  Have we been beaten down enough that now we just don’t care anymore? Are we too busy? Do we think this isn’t coming to our community, to our family, to our church?

Those are the questions I ask myself nearly every day in the summer of 2016. I don’t have answers, but I know Christians need to join us in showing up, standing up and speaking up on this issue. Now.

Ten years—and this is where we are. Boys in the girls’ shower rooms, and school districts—and many others—thinking it’s ok—it’s normal. It’s not ok. It’s not normal. And if we don’t do something now, today, I cannot imagine what Wisconsin will look like in another decade, in another mere ten years. God help us.

For Wisconsin Family Council, this is Julaine Appling reminding you the prophet Hosea said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”