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Christian Values In Business
The transformation of our society has made it inadvisable for Christians to enter into certain professions, lest they be forced to violate their religious principles or face the wrath of the heathens and the government (redundant?) for not doing so. I’m speaking, of course, about the multitude of incidents of late wherein a business owner providing services related to weddings has refused upon principles of Christianity to fulfill a request to do so due to the marriage being of two homosexuals. Cake makers, florists, wedding venue owners and photographers in various states around our nation have been castigated, harassed, protested, shut down, sued and had discrimination complaints filed on them for refusing to provide services in support of homosexual weddings. Some have had to close their businesses; some have been fined; some have been ordered to pay thousands of dollars to the ‘wronged’ homosexuals; and some are still going through the process of having their lives and businesses destroyed because they declined to bake a cake or snap some photos.
State governments have even jumped into the fray, with some states passing nondiscrimination laws specifying that businesses may not discriminate based on sexual orientation. If you’re a Christian baker in one of those states your livelihood is on the line if you exercise your First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion and decline to bake a cake for a homosexual wedding. Yes, that pesky First Amendment. It seems to be null and void in some states. It is beyond me how a state legislature can pass a law specifying that a baker, photographer or florist is required under penalty of law to give up their First Amendment rights and violate their own religious beliefs if they open the door to do business. Since when did getting a business license equal voluntary forfeiture of Constitutional rights? I understand why people on the left would be in favor of this since Christianity and liberalism is like oil and water, but it seems that even some people on the right say it is wrong for Christians to be discerning. Their weak theology must not have taught them the difference between discrimination and discernment.
But, there are some states with legislators who remember we have the First Amendment. Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma legislatures have all had bills introduced that would protect or affirm the right of business owners providing services related to weddings to decline to do so on religious grounds. But even those efforts don’t seem to be going anywhere. The Arkansas bill has just been introduced but the bills in Texas and Oklahoma are apparently dead for this year’s legislative sessions. The bill in Texas was opposed by a powerful Texas business organization due to fear of alienating large corporations that have diversity policies recognizing homosexual couples. The Oklahoma bill does not appear to be advancing in the floor sessions and has been declared dead by one legislator.
With suck weak efforts it is only a matter of time before Christian principles in the wedding industry are but a memory. Christians who remain in businesses that provide wedding related services will have to accede to demands that they keep their religious principles to themselves, smile and make the cake with two plastic men or two plastic women on the top, or face the financial consequences.
In years past it would have been unthinkable that homosexual marriage would one day be legal in our country. With leftist judges leading the way, homosexual marriage is now legal in most states and will likely be legal in all before long. Following closely behind is the removal of First Amendment rights to the free exercise of religion from business owners who provide services desired by homosexuals wishing to be married. The day is likely coming when it will no longer be legal in any state for a business owner to decline to provide services for a homosexual wedding.
To some, it might seem unthinkable that Christians would one day face financial ruin for refusing to bake a cake or snap some photos. But when you do an impartial review of the direction our country has been headed for decades now, both spiritually and morally, it’s plain to see that we have become a licentious society that is quickly losing tolerance for those of us who still advocate for morality and virtuous lifestyles.
People don’t want to be told they’re living sinful lives and they will use every means necessary to pound their detractors into silent submission. And now our own governments will help them do it. But silencing the Christians is not their only goal. They need to exact retribution on those who label their lifestyle for the abomination that it is. They need to make an example of those people as a message to others that you better bake the cake and snap the photos or else. Take the owners of Sweet Cakes By Melissa in Oregon, for example. They declined to make a cake for a homosexual wedding. The owners are now waiting to find out how much their fine will be and it could top out at $150,000.
Homosexuals may be sinful and amoral but that does not mean they are stupid. They know that in the competitive market place they can’t make the argument that leaving a Christian baker or florist destitute and penniless is the “least restrictive means” of securing access to cakes and flowers for homosexual weddings. To the contrary, it is the best means possible for them to force their abominable lifestyle on everyone else and coerce them into accepting their abhorrence as ‘normal’ under threat of financial ruin.
To my mind it seems inadvisable for Christians intent on maintaining their Christian principles to choose a profession which has the potential to place them in the position of having to choose between violating those principles or facing financial ruin. While this may seem to be a form of surrender, it would seem to be a prudent decision to not place one’s family livelihood in the position of being in conflict with maintaining Christian principles. And to what end?
With the direction our country is headed and the government becoming more anti-Christian with every year that goes by, Christians choosing a profession should remember that we are commanded by the Bible to obey the laws of the country. I know of no reasonable Christian who would favor deliberately placing one’s self in a position that has the potential to force a choice between obeying the law and following Christian principles.
Source: http://www.charlesmphipps.net/christian-values-in-business/
