Standing for what is right has become taboo in countless modern places. Nowadays, the more outspoken tend to side with the wrong, fashioning sin into various appealing shapes, sizes and norms for the entire community to embrace and swallow—if not for some sinister political purposes.
Boxing champion Manny Pacquiao is so well-known that every time he says something of substance the world takes notice. At times a statement of his would stir an uproar, like his recent comment about the same-sex marriage issue.
Pacquiao was correct in his uncompromising stance against gay marriage. He did nothing wrong as a religious person; he has committed himself to the mission of bringing Good News to the world. But whether he indeed quoted the Bible or not, the entire Scripture strongly supports his belief that gay marriage is diametrically opposed to the will of God.
Pacquiao clarified he is not against homosexuals. True enough, there is no reason for anybody to deride, condemn or discriminate gay people for what they are. We should instead be out-and-out sympathetic and supportive of them, not as homosexuals but as a group of individuals in need of God’s love and light. God loves homosexuals and lesbians, too.
How can society’s few good men be catalysts of change when the majority of those who believe the Truth keep mum?
Pacquiao, now a born-again Christian, is unlike other preachers because he seems to take God’s Word to heart wherever he goes and under whatever circumstances, by proclaiming the Word like it is—without fear or favor, and with spontaneity. But he clarified that he did not specifically quote the Book of Leviticus.
Pacquiao uttered words that may be remembered and quoted by future generations and leaders, “God’s words first… obey God’s laws before considering the laws of man.” Truly classic, “historical.”
It was the Truth spoken by Pacquiao, plain and simple, plus the verse he allegedly uttered, as quoted by reporter Granville Ampong in his write-up in Examiner.com. The message came across, and it was such a flash in pitch darkness. No worries, the Truth hurts, the Truth heals.
Martin Luther, the great reformer, once said: “The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; the Bible has feet, it runs after me; the Bible has hands, it lays hold on me… Never mind the scribes—what saith the Scriptures?”
“For as the rain and snow come down from the heavens, and return not there again, but water the earth and make it bring forth and sprout, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My Word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void (without producing any effect, useless), but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11, Amplified Bible)
God is exceedingly delighted. Pacquiao should keep it up. Kudos!
—RENI M. VALENZUELA,
renimvalenzuela@yahoo.com