From the Desk

A shocking event at a nationally televised awards show catches the audience by surprise, making headlines that last for days. By now, this type of storyline is nothing new, thanks to celebrities such as Kanye West and Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke. Despite the current surplus of awards show drama, the 56th Grammy Awards on CBS made headlines for a different reason Sunday night, Jan. 26, and it had surprisingly little to do with music.

Near the end of the three-and-a-half-hour show, Madonna joined rap duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis as well as singer Mary Lambert to perform “Same Love,” practically a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender battle cry in hip-hop packaging. Then, in a gesture that was weird even by awards show standards, 34 couples, both gay and straight, were married at the same time by Queen Latifah.

Many supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage soon took to social media to voice their opinions about the political statement made by the event. I was left with only one question: Why does such a politically charged ceremony belong on a show designed to honor the most talented musicians in the industry?

If Macklemore and Ryan Lewis had won a Grammy for “Same Love,” then I could see the motivation behind the stunt. The hip-hop duo did win four Grammys, but none of those were for “Same Love.”

The blatant, industry-wide push toward homosexuality should come as no surprise. The marriages took place on CBS, a major network with multiple openly homosexual stars. Neil Patrick Harris, a frequent host of awards shows including the Emmys and Tonys, has played Barney Stinson for nine seasons of the show “How I Met Your Mother,” and Jim Parsons has portrayed the character Sheldon Cooper for seven seasons of “The Big Bang Theory.”

By now, you might have deducted that I, like a majority of Bible-believing Christians, do not support gay marriage. However, after the show’s conclusion, I found myself asking another question. If Tim Tebow was allowed to give praise to God in televised interviews after football games, what makes same-sex couples marrying on the Grammys any different?

Although both Tebow and those same-sex couples were well within their rights to express a belief in God or get married under California law, there is one fundamental difference. What Tebow said was never scripted by the networks televising his football games.

If Macklemore had voiced his support for same-sex marriage during an acceptance speech, I would have had no problem with that. In fact, artists commonly take those types of opportunities to talk about issues they are passionate about. But for CBS to promote such a clear political message within a show about music just seems desperate and out of place.