Ohio Senator Rob Portman recently announced that he now supports same-sex marriage. This makes Portman the first sitting Republican senator to take this position, and is especially noteworthy since he was a supporter of the ‘Defense of Marriage Act’ in 1996. That act defined marriage as between a man and a woman.

So, what could cause this dramatic change in a previously conservative politician? Well, it seems that Portman’s son has ‘come out’ as a homosexual.

We could spend time identifying the Bible proof that homosexuality is a sin. We could answer all the arguments of the many – including many ‘religious’ types – that claim otherwise. But our point of emphasis here is on the fact that this man totally changed on an important moral issue because a loved one is involved. We wonder what it would take to get Mr. Portman to ‘sell out’ his morality on other issues. Could he be swayed on abortion - Portman is currently ‘pro-life’ - if he had a daughter who was caught up in that sin? Would he ‘cave’ on pedophilia if a loved one was found guilty? What if another of his sons turns out to be a thief? a rapist? a murderer? Where does one stop once he surrenders his moral convictions?

Unfortunately this compromised senator is not alone. Too many – and not a few Christians – fail to stand up for what is right when their own families are entangled in sin. How often have we heard otherwise ‘sound’ brethren who offer excuses, failed arguments, and illogical explanations when their children or other loved ones are engaged is sinful conduct? Drinking, fornication, gambling, dancing, unscriptural divorce and remarriage . . . the list goes on . . . are all defended if it gets ‘too close to home’. Parents, grand-parents, siblings, and other relatives and friends become ‘enablers’ of such sins by their refusal to stand firmly for what is right.

Instead of this spirit of compromise, we must “earnestly contend for the faith” (Jude 3). Think!

by Greg Gwin