Many in the Christian community were upset when the 56th Annual Grammy Awards hosted a mass wedding ceremony for 33 same-sex and straight couples on Sunday. Jim Daily from the Focus on the Family ministry wrote a blog post encouraging believers to respond to what is now a prominent worldview in our culture with both grace and truth.
On Sunday's Grammy Awards show, actress and singer Queen Latifah officiated a ceremony for same-sex and heterosexual couples as Macklemore and Ryan Lewis performed onstage. They sang "Same Love," a song which mocks the Bible (calling it a "book written thirty-five-hundred years ago") and ridicules Christians for suggesting that homosexual desires can be "cured with some treatment and religion."
Needless to say, many Christians are saddened by the Grammy's blatant disregard for Biblical values and for the one-man-one-woman traditional view of marriage. In light of the growing resistance toward Biblical Christianity in America, Jim Daily challenges Christians to live in such a way that exhibits both God's righteousness and His grace.
Same-sex couples rightly desire a longing for complete acceptance and to be fully loved, Daily says; yet they often fail to realize that this kind of love comes from God alone - it cannot be given by another human being (see Romans 3:10-12). "It's the Christian's job to explain that, ultimately, this yearning for what's good and right and to be fully loved can only be fulfilled in Jesus Christ," he says. Daily calls Christians to share the love of God both verbally and by displaying Christ's message of redemption through mediums of film, music, and television.
Christian artist Natalie Grant left the Grammys early on Sunday evening, but not necessarily during the wedding ceremony. "I've many thoughts about the show tonight, most of which are probably better left inside my head," she posted on Facebook that evening - "But I'll say this: I've never been more honored to sing about Jesus and for Jesus. And I've never been more sure of the path I've chosen."
When the news spread that Grant had left the awards show early, gay-rights activists slandered her on Facebook, accusing her of being judgmental and hateful. She later posted: "I've judged no one. I hate no one. And I believe that every person has been created in the image of God ... I do have my own personal convictions that I live by, and I will continue to work out my own salvation with fear and trembling before the Lord (Philippians 2:12)."
"While we cannot compromise our principles and doctrine," Daily says, "we must also be compassionate and considerate and not expect the people of the world to act like Christians ... It requires a delicate and thoughtful approach to life."
