I do not know if Kim Davis will still be in jail by the time this column makes it to print; I surely hope she has been released by then. But whether she is still incarcerated or not, the truths of this column still need to be stated.
I am certain that everyone has their opinions on the kerfuffle in Kentucky. For what it is worth, my opinion is a fairly strong one. If there is enough brain power in this country to put a man on the moon, then there is certainly enough brain power to figure out how to work things out without forcing Christians to either endorse what the Bible says is wrong or lose their jobs or freedom if they do not. The fact that a Christian is now in jail despite all of this collective brain power leads me to believe that dropping the hammer on Christians is actually the goal of some.
That said, I also believe that this could well be a very valuable moment for Christians everywhere.
In his "Letter from the Birmingham Jail," Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break laws. This is certainly a legitimate concern. Since we so diligently urge people to obey the Supreme Court's decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public schools, at first glance it may seem rather paradoxical for us consciously to break laws. One may want to ask: 'How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?' The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that 'an unjust law is no law at all.'"
Christians would do well to learn from both Scripture and history that civil disobedience is sometimes utterly necessary. The authorities in Jerusalem commanded that no one preach or teach in Jesus' name. The authorities of Rome outlawed the Bible. Great Britain outlawed the idea of a free and sovereign nation across the pond. If Christians always obeyed the law, there would therefore be no Christians, no Bible and no United States of America.
Peter, when commanded not to teach in Jesus' name, said, "We ought to obey God rather than men." He and James and John directly disobeyed the orders of those in authority. So did others whose names we know so well: Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Paul, Felicitas, Vivia Perpetua, Lady Jane Grey, John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, the list could go on for a very long time.
Should Christians be looking for a reason to disobey judges, teachers, professors or others in authority? Certainly not. Romans 13:1-4 tells us to obey those in authority. To be looking for reasons to disobey would be evidence of hearts that are not right with God. But when forced into an either/or situation where the only two options are to obey God or man, we must obey God every time, no matter what authority figure we displease. Judges, professors, legislators and others need to be told, "No," each and every time they force a moral conflict of interest on us or our children.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, that great preacher and martyr of World War II Germany, decried the follower mentality of Christians who obeyed the authorities who were slaughtering Jews all around them. The book "Bonhoeffer" by Eric Metaxas should be regarded as a must-read for anyone who thinks that Christians are always to be obedient sheep, grazing quietly in government sanctioned pastures while wickedness reigns. He shows Bonhoeffer disobeying, not in spite of his faith, but because of it.
America did not become free because of obedient, pliable men. She became free because of people willing to disobey when necessary.
Bo Wagner is pastor of the Cornerstone Baptist Church of Mooresboro, N.C., and the author of several books that are available at wordofhismouth.com. Contact him at 2knowhim@cbc-web.org.