By Brian Branscum | Contributor
The level of outrage over Kim Davis's imprisonment suggests that the Christian community sees this as a case of religious persecution.
Davis, a county clerk in Rowan County, Kentucky, began refusing to issue marriage licenses-and prohibited her deputies from doing so-after the Supreme Court ruled same-sex marriages legal in July. She was jailed Sept. 3, after being ruled in contempt of court. Christians' angry posts about her situation imply that we see her as a martyr.
While the Bible denounces homosexuality, it also supports respecting authority. Romans 13:1-2 says, "Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. . . . Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves."
Christians may ask what to do if the government tells us to do ungodly things. Should we obey? Absolutely not. We are subject to God first. But there are consequences when we stand up for our beliefs, and we are called to accept them.
Consider Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, three men who held high positions in Babylon. When the government commanded them to pray to a statue, they refused. They accepted the consequences and were thrown into the furnace.
Kim Davis faced a similar problem. Her job required her to issue marriage licenses without prejudice. When the Supreme Court decreed marriage licenses could be issued to homosexual couples, her job obligated her to do so.
At this point, if she felt she couldn't morally do her job, she should have resigned. Instead she defied the courts and compelled her coworkers to do the same. Her imprisonment was a result of her defiance, not of her beliefs.
When you work for a business, there's an understanding that your words and actions reflect the company's stance. If you work for a left-leaning news network and denounce President Obama on Twitter, chances are your career at that network will be short-lived. If you work for a government that rules same-sex marriage legal and you refuse to issue marriage licenses, you can expect the same result.
Davis is not a martyr. She is a disgruntled worker who refused to do her job despite being ordered to by the court.
We must not forget that America is not a Christian nation but a secular nation with religious freedom for everyone.
Christians in America must let go of this entitlement complex. We must stop acting like America is doomed whenever the secular government makes a secular law. After all, God is in control.
Besides commanding us to respect authority, Jesus gave another command that should guide our lives: "''Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Matthew 22:37-39)
Let's stop encouraging Christians who act out of defiance and rebellion and instead support those who seek to carry out this great commandment, spreading a message of hope and love.
