A4P Guest: I’m 26 years old and I’m from Ethiopia, residing here in the US. I’m dating a white Christian man. He proposed to me two weeks ago and we’re thinking of getting married soon. But unfortunately both of my parents are against it because of his race. Is interracial marriage against the word of God?
A4P: Before I say anything, let me say this: Congratulations! You must be so excited! I’m happy for you!
But I know that the fact that your parents are not with you in this can be a bit depressing. I’m sorry!
Well, when it comes to your question, is interracial marriage against the word of God, I don’t think it is and I don’t know of any Bible verse that says something like, “Make sure you marry only from your culture and/or race.”
If ever, I remember a passage of the Bible where Moses took an Ethiopian girl as his wife and Miriam and Aaron spoke against his marriage. And guess what? God was very upset with them and punished Miriam with leprosy (Numbers 12). So, God must have approved Moses’ marriage with a black woman.
What the word of God is against though is for you to seek marriage with a guy who doesn’t believe in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 6:14-18), a man who only knows about Jesus Christ and doesn’t care or know much about following or not following Christ and he has very little or no understanding of what sin is. If you say, “Sex before marriage is a sin,” he may probably feel sorry for you and laugh.
That being said let me tell you what I personally am against when it comes to interracial marriage.
I’ve heard from many young Habesha, Ethiopian/Eritrean, girls who said this to me: “I don’t want to marry Habesha man because I don’t want to go through what my mom had been through.”
Yeah! This is the kind of thinking I am against. You see, they’re pretty much saying this: “All Habesha men are the same; and if I marry non-Habesha man, preferably a white man, I will have a better life.”
This is a lie from hell! A lie the devil made them believe!
I mean, God didn’t create multiple kinds of Adams in the Eden Garden. There is only one race called a human race. Everybody came from that one Adam God created first and guess what? Every one of us came to this world with the issue of sin that shows its ugly face in our lives in many different ways no matter what skin color we may have.
And generally speaking, most interracial relationships start with an intense physical “fire-works” (starts with sex) because lots of curiosities and excitements are involved in it. “What is it like sleeping with – – -” (fill in the blanks with any skin color) and this curiosity adds fuel to the already blazing fire of physical attraction and kills the sexual integrity of the couple. Then with no confession and repentance, the couple goes into marriage. Then, slowly but surely, everything starts to shake and fall apart. Why? Absence of confession and repentance (Proverbs 28:13).
So, first, make sure you are not pursuing this man thinking that your marriage will be outside this world. Bring your expectations back to the ground (and remember that interracial marriages have unique struggles that other marriages don’t have. Make sure you read those unique struggles and learn how to go through them). Second, make sure you do your dating relationship according to the word of God because when you honor God during your dating season, God honors you in your married season (1 Samuel 2:30). So, be wise. Third, pray so your parents bless your marriage. Yes, you need their blessings; but sometimes, it is close to impossible to get their blessings. If that is going to be the case with you, it doesn’t mean that you can’t go ahead and marry. As long as you align your life with the word of God, God will be in your team and sooner or later, you shall see His miraculous hand moving on your behalf. You never know. Your parents may surprise you on your wedding day as they show up with a beautiful wedding gift and a smile on their faces. Just pray!
I wish you all the best! ///