Where's Pete?

We have to make sure that we are exhibiting the principles of Scripture in the way that we live - our marriages should reflect the love of God and in our families, we should seek to exalt Christ. Our duty as believers is to obey the Lord and to shine His light to our culture. 2nd Corinthians 4 relates:
6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

Day by day, we can remind ourselves that we represent Christ - in the way we interact with others, in the way we conduct ourselves in the workplace, in the way we relate to one another in our homes. We have been given that capacity to uphold Biblical truth, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can glorify God in our conduct. The Spirit will direct us and remind us of who we are, so that we demonstrate Christ to our culture.

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The Bible is certainly clear about homosexuality, as well as so-called gay marriage. Some say Jesus did not teach on the matter; Jesus gave a clear picture in Mark chapter 10:
6 But from the beginning of the creation, God 'made them male and female.'
7 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,
8 and the two shall become one flesh'; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh.
9 Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."

The picture seemed to be everywhere - and why not? The celebration of the birth of a child is something about which we should rejoice.  But, this black-and-white photo of the two parents and their twin daughters was certainly askew. 

As Katy Faust and Stacy Manning described it on the LifeSiteNews website:

More accurately, two men, who are biologically prohibited from “becoming” parents without the involvement and sacrifice of a woman or two, have acquired children.

Even more disquieting, their photo announcement featured the pair seated on a hospital bed, displacing the woman who carried these babies for nine months and labored to bring them into the world.

One of the men was the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who made headlines by running for President and then being nominated and confirmed as Secretary of Transportation, even though there were those who questioned his qualifications.  That would be Pete Buttigieg, he is married to Chasten, his husband, and they have adopted two children.

But, Pete and Chasten, in their efforts to flaunt their disregard for biology and sociology, have deprived these children of some important components, according to Faust and Manning, who write:

Lest you knee jerk and regurgitate the “research shows children with same sex parents fare ‘no differently’ than kids with opposite sex parents” line, here’s a little thought experiment. Anytime sociologists are studying family structures other than same sex-parenting, they overwhelmingly agree that:

1. Biology matters. Biological parents stack the deck in favor of child safety and thriving throughout their childhood.
2. Gender matters. Mothers and fathers offer distinct and complementary benefits to children.
3. Parental loss is harmful. Children experience diminished outcomes when they lose a parent to divorce, abandonment (even if subsequently adopted), death, or third-party reproduction.

So how could it be that same-sex parented kids magically fare “no differently” when, by the very nature of their family structure, they are always missing a biological parent, always deprived maternal or paternal love, and always arrive in their home via parental loss? The answer of course is that those “no difference” studies are methodologically flawed.

"Mayor Pete," as he was called during the campaign, hasn't been officially back to work since.  And, the announcement came on August 17.  Last week, the New York Post reported:

Besides several recent television hits, Buttigieg has been a stay-at-home dad Politico reported — out on paternity leave for nearly two months amid the spiraling crisis to spend time with his husband and two newborn babies. And the Biden cabinet secretary plans to continue to give them home support in the coming weeks, the report said.

The news of Buttigieg’s daddy day care comes as dozens of large ships remained stuck in a traffic jam near the Los Angeles coast for more than a month waiting to dock and unload goods including toasters, sneakers, bicycles and cars. A shortage of truckers has also prevented companies from distributing supplies across the country.

Congressional leaders were calling Buttigieg to get back to work.  The Post article points out:

Per the Office of Personnel Management, cabinet secretaries are not eligible for the same paid family leave benefits as other federal workers, making it hard to justify leaving for long periods of time. However, the president can “choose to allow him to take time off.”

While it is unclear if Biden approved Buttigieg’s paternity leave, the White House has called the secretary a “key member of the team,” saying, “We’re overjoyed for him and Chasten, and believe every American should have access to paid family leave.”

Actually, it may be a good thing that Secretary Pete is off the job.  Think about it - how did we get into this mess?  Is the supply chain messed up already due to government interference - paying workers to stay home, threatening companies who don't vaccinate their employees?  But, it is certain that we need help in getting products to their destinations, but until policies change, what can the inexperienced, unqualified Secretary of Transportation do?  Perhaps free market, private solutions and the removal of heavy-handed government policies is a better way forward, and let Pete and Chasten keep playing house.

And, by the way, you can also say that it is certainly not the role of government to interfere in private, conscience-driven health decisions.  In the interest of maintaining order and punishing evil, how about some relief for our law enforcement and first responders, who are now facing department reductions because of vaccine mandates and the pressures of trying to protect and serve in a cultural atmosphere that is biased against them.

We also should expect our leaders to respect a building block of our culture - marriage between a man and a woman.  However, that has not been the case for some time - Obergefell was a critical step along that timeline, and we are continuing to see the idea of same-sex marriage treated the same as marriage as it is defined by Scripture.  And, the idea of a same-sex couple adopting children still has its minefield - the Supreme Court only months ago ruled that an adoption agency did not have to place children in the home of a same-sex couple; critics have said that the decision is quite narrow, though.

Also, Fox Business reported that dozens of senators have decried a marriage penalty in the proposed infrastructure bill.  The article says:

Highlighting the financial imposition the bill places on married couples, the senators argued that federal policy "should be designed to foster strong marriages" and warned that the "harmful penalties for marriage" sends "the wrong message" to American families.