By Brett Younger
Kim Davis’ 15 minutes have stretched to 15 weeks. Just after the Supreme Court affirmed the right of same-sex couples to marry, Davis affirmed the right of county clerks to decide who can get married. She refused to serve gay couples seeking marriage licenses, and then when that turned out to be illegal, refused to serve any couples that wanted to get married. Davis was making a federal judge crazy so he threw her in jail. When that put the jail on the list of tourist attractions in Kentucky and the judge on the list of people Kim Davis’ fans harass, the judge let Kim inspire people from home. She met with the Pope to explain what real religious persecution looks like. Kim has taken the law into her own hands in order to encourage Christians to refuse service to others.
Some have suggested that if Davis does not want to do her job she should consider other employment, but why should she have to change jobs just because she does not want to do the job she agreed to do? Perhaps her refusal to serve those she promised to serve is unreasonable, but where has being reasonable ever gotten us?
More Christians should refrain from providing services. Every Christian has a responsibility to follow biblical laws even when it makes no sense. More Christians could be on the front page if they took the rules as seriously as Kim does. Here are stories for which we should not have to wait:
Kim Davis herself could get us started by refusing to recognize her own marriage license, because Kim has been married four times: “Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Matthew 19:6).
Christian bakers — some of whom already refuse to make cakes for gay couples — should refuse to make cakes for fat people: “The glutton shall come to poverty” (Proverbs 23:21).
Christian ministers should refuse to say the prayer before a meal: “When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God” (Deuteronomy 8:10).
Christian doctors should refuse to treat sick preachers: “ Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death” (Exodus 35:2).
Christian dermatologists should refuse to treat anyone with a tattoo: “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you” (Leviticus 19:28).
Christian grocers should refuse to buy produce from farmers who raise two crops in the same field: “Thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed” (Leviticus 19:19).
Christian cooks should refuse to make shrimp scampi: “And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you” (Leviticus 11:10).
Christian hair dressers should refuse to braid hair: “Women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair” (1Timothy 2:9).
Christian jewelers should refuse to sell anything “gold, or pearls, or costly array” (1 Timothy 2:9).
Christian men should refuse to marry normal women: “But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence” (1 Timothy 2:12).
Christian bus drivers should refuse to drive to events that offend their sensibilities — WrestleMania, Taylor Swift concerts, Joel Osteen crusades: “Abstain from all appearance of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22).
Christian politicians should refuse to participate in the pledge of allegiance: “Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne. Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool. Neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King” (Matthew 5:34-35).
Christian cashiers should refuse to sell guns: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks” (Isaiah 2:4).
Christian citizens should refuse to pay taxes because the money goes to pay for weapons: “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9).
Christian border guards should refuse to keep anyone out: “If a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you” (Exodus 19:33-34).
Given the wonderful publicity Kim Davis has gotten, why aren’t more Christians refusing service? Christians could be known as people who refuse to serve others, except for this: “Jesus sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, ‘If any desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all’” (Mark 9:35).