Sometimes Christians Need to Quit Their Jobs

Photo by NBC News

Kim Davis is the government worker in Kentucky who spent a night in jail because she refused to provide marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

My desire here is not to take sides or make political points, but rather to point out that sometimes our perspective as Americans might be different than our perspective as Christians. When that happens, my default is to choose my Christian perspective rather than my American perspective. How you respond... Is your choice.

As a Christian

If you claim to follow Christ, you regularly find yourself asking, "Will I be representing Jesus well if I do this...?" Sometimes the answer is an obvious "yes" or "no" and sometimes it is far less obvious.

If I were in Kim Davis' shoes my answer to this question might be different than hers.

There comes a time in many people's lives when they are forced to make difficult choices. Despite what Michelob light commercials might say, you can't have it all. You may not always be able to have your dream job AND live a God-honoring life.

Truth be told, many careers currently exist which a Christian should probably not pursue. Perhaps as society morphs and the values of our culture change, that list will grow. Perhaps it has already grown to include certain government positions.

Each of us must determine for ourselves whether we can excel in our career and in doing so represent Jesus well. If we cannot, it may be time for a necessary ending.

Here is where I think Kim Davis has missed the bigger point. There is a way for her to honor the law of the land and to remain faithful to God. It's not easy, but there is a way. She can resign. I completely understand that she has been put in an unfair position. It is a shame that she must make such a choice. But that is the choice she has.

She can choose to assert her rights and take up her case, or she can choose to follow her savior and take up her cross.

As An American

If I take my faith out of this, which I wouldn't choose to do. I would probably side with Kim Davis. As Americans, we usually choose to stand by one another even when we disagree. We are people welded together through compromise and deference. We find solutions rather than exclusions.

Unfortunately, this case was blown into a national feeding frenzy when it probably could have been solved at the local level. Given the opportunity, I'm sure the local officials could have found a way to allow Ms. Davis to honor her conscience while still providing the necessary services required by the law (for what it's worth, it isn't the law yet in Kentucky but it will be eventually).

Sometimes it is good and proper to raise national awareness and to prick the conscience of our population. But not always. Sometimes, we just need to give each other time and space and figure out how to live with one another in spite of our differing opinions.

My last statement is one that could be heeded by all sides of these present debates. Our search for solutions has not been comprehensive enough if we must rob one person of their civil rights in order to provide another with theirs.