Kim Davis
According to this post from CharismaNews, a county clerk in Kentucky who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples on religious grounds was held in contempt of court by a U.S. federal judge on Thursday and sent to jail.
One would have thought that this was impossible in “God’s own country”, but then you would not too be surprised if you took Bishop T. D. Jake’s position on these matters very seriously. He had asserted that
We bought, the church bought into the myth that this was a Christian nation. And once you get past that, which a lot of people are going to criticize me because they’re still gonna think it’s a Christian nation, which is a whole different show, but once you begin to understand that democracy, that a republic actually, is designed to be an overarching system to protect our unique nuances then we no longer look for public policy to reflect biblical ethics…
If we can divide, or what you would call separation of church and state, then we can dwell together more effectively. Because atheists, agnostics, Jews, all types of people, Muslims, pay into the government, the government then cannot reflect one particular view over another, just because we are the dominant group of religious people in the country, because those numbers are changing every day. We need a neutralized government that protects our right to disagree with one another and agree with one another.
Now it means that we are likely going to see more of these kind of convictions and even stranger events as American demographics continue to shift from a predominantly christian, “one nation under God”, to a modern Babel of different tongues, cultures and creeds.
So it is that Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, 49, is going to jail because she believes that “Marriage is a union between one man and one woman,” and finds it difficult to issue a same-sex marriage certificate, in defiance of the state, on account of that belief. She was quoted as saying “I’ve weighed the cost and I’m prepared to go to jail. This has never been a gay or lesbian issue for me. This is about upholding the Word of God.” She will be forfeiting her liberty and her salary of $80,000.00 per annum.
As Bishop Jakes noted, the “Supreme Court is there to make a decision based on constitutional rights and legalities that fit all Americans. They are not debating Scripture”, it is unlikely that recourse to the law courts will halt the drift in American society, nor protect Christians who seek to remain a people under God.
The options open to the defiant few are very few. They must be ready, like clerk Kim Davis, to suffer for what they believe. As it is written, “And they gave a great cry, saying, How long will it be, O Ruler, holy and true, before you take your place as judge and give punishment for our blood to those on the earth? And there was given to every one a white robe, and they were ordered to take their rest for a little time, till the number was complete of the other servants, their brothers, who would be put to death, even as they had been.” Rev 6:10-11(BBE).
Certainly, a number of people will suffer for defying the state. But, their willingness to suffer for their faith is what will provoke their deliverance. Those who overcame the Dragon by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony did not “love their lives unto death” Rev 12:11. That was how Elijah turned the tide in Israel under Ahab. That was how the “Hebrew Children” turned the tide in Babylon. They first went into the fiery furnace and the Lion’s Den, before the Son of God showed up.
And for us in Nigeria, perhaps we still have some grace. May we not be too comfortable in Zion, only to wake up too late after “the Philistines be upon us” Judges 16. May God strengthen our hands to take the Land, “lest the beasts of the field increase upon us” Deuteronomy 7:22. And let us remember to continue to uphold people of faith in places of authority…God has placed them there for a purpose. And yes, do remember America in your prayers too.
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