One of the things that has been in the news a lot lately is the bakers in Oregon who refused to bake a wedding cake for a same sex wedding. Most people are up in arms and think they are being mistreated by the government for being Christian. That may be possible, but I think they made some very simple mistakes and were irresponsible. So here are three simple points about why I think they are in the wrong.
First off, Paul writes very clearly that we should be good law following citizens. This means that we should be following the laws that are in place. If the law says you should only drive 70mph down the I-95, the fastest you should drive on the I-95 is 70. If the laws says that you should be in bed and asleep by 10pm, guess where you should be at 10pm. If the law says you shouldn't refuse service to anyone for any reason, you probably shouldn't turn people away. In order to be a good law following citizen, we must then know what the laws are. I find that being unaware of what the laws are is irresponsible. Now should we follow the law blindly, No. However we do need to be aware of the laws and know what they are. So saying we had no idea about the law is failing on their part.
Now secondly, if you choice to say the law is conflicting with what my religion teaches me, you should be prepared to face the consequences. We see two good examples of this in Daniel. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego decided not to the follow the law and were throw into the furnace. They didn't whine and cry about. They didn't say that the government was being harsh. They faced the consequence and hoped for the best. Daniel also when through the same thing. Daniel refused to follow the law and was thrown in the lion's den. The king had more issues with this than Daniel did. Daniel didn't get on facebook and update his status to say something along the lines of that King is awful, and I don't understand why I am being thrown into the lion's den. I'm just doing what my religion teaches me how dare he follow the laws and punish me in the fashion the laws says it will. Daniel went into the lion's den and hoped for the best. These 2 stories teach that it is ok not to follow the law when the law of the land conflicts with God's laws, however be prepared to suffer the consequence. A few years ago, I went to India on a mission trip. In order to get a visa into India part of the application has you sign that you will not be spreading the Christian Gospel while there. I was going on a mission trip but I signed it anyway. It also that if I was caught doing this I would get sent back to my country of origin. At the time of this trip, I was living in Korea, my life, my job, and my money were in Korea, not the USA. If I got caught, I would have been sent back to the USA. I had brought enough money with me so that if I did get sent back to the USA, I could buy a plane ticket back to Korea. I was aware of the law, and prepared to pay the consequences. If you choice to say I can't follow the law because of my religion you need to be prepared to pay the consequences. These bakers aren't prepared for the consequences.
Lastly, we are suppose to look at Christ as our example. When we interact with people, we should look at how Christ did it. Christ didn't turn anyone away. Everyone that came to Christ go what they were asking for. He didn't look at anyone and say, "Sorry you've made bad life choices and I can't heal." He didn't look at the guy who lowered down through the hole in the roof and say, "I know your friends just put a hole in someone's ceiling, but you are sinning so greatly, I can't do anything for you." After everyone left the one caught in adultery and pick up a stone. If Christ turned no one away then we should turn no one.
So these bakers made the wrong choices.
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