I wrote this blog some time ago, then didn't post it because it is controversial.  I was thinking outside of the box.  But if I am thinking about it, you may be too.  The world has turned upside down.   Men and women are living together rather than getting married.  On the other hand, homosexuals want to get married.  They don't want to just live together.  Like I said, the world has turned upside down.

How does the government always get everything wrong?  Older people are penalized financially by the government if they marry.  And many of them are living on borderline subsistence levels.  They will lose part of their income if they marry.  Go figure.  Maybe when the government fails the church should step in.   Maybe, if older Christians want to marry--but will lose their income if they do--that the churches in America should come up with a ceremony blessed by the church.  It wouldn't be ratified by the government but at least older couples wouldn't suffer financial distress, could be true to their Christian beliefs, and have the approval of the church and other Christians.

This is a problem that we as Christians could solve--when a Christian man and woman want to marry but can't afford to, why couldn't they be married by the church, in the church?   Marriage is performed in a lot of different ways. We already have "common law marriages."   Marriage in the 1800's was delayed while waiting for a traveling preacher.  Some marriages were validated by stepping over a broom.  Marriage is, simply, a contract secured by a group who agree that it is valid--an agreement between two people and some society.  It is a contract so that the rest of the world can know that they have pledged themselves to each other.  There are older people who want to be true to their faith.  They shouldn't be penalized.

When the government is nuts, the church should step in.  Like I said, controversial.  I'm not even sure whether I agree with myself or not.  I just think something has gone wrong.