I work, play, and worship in North Eastern Indiana. While I officially live just over the border in Ohio, I think it is fair to say that the majority of my time awake is spent in Indiana. I am familiar with the twists and turns of many Indiana backroads and I have marveled at the beauty of Hoosier lakes and forests. I feel a connection with the state, and while my Buckeye pride celebrates when Ohio is successful, I wish Indiana and all of its inhabitants well.
I listen to the news constantly when driving. So I have heard all about the bill recently passed in Indiana that is causing such an uproar. The ‘Religious Freedom Restoration Act’ (RFRA) has brought the humble state of Indiana to the world stage. Hearing about the bill on national and international news is surreal and hearing the tumultuous reaction to the new law is discouraging. It seems that RFRA is so controversial that it has brought a D.C. sized firestorm to the very doorstep of a state I love. Companies and organizations are running to both sides of a line drawn in the sand, willing and eager to do economic battle in the interest of winning the fight.
I don’t call the reaction to the RFRA discouraging because I support its intent and want to see our religious freedoms protected, but rather I am disappointed that we would find the need for such a law. The Constitution of the United States already protects the free practice of any religion in its first amendment. Do we really need to re-legislate to protect something we are already guaranteed? Have we lost faith in the protections afforded to us by the Constitution? Does the Constitution need to be renewed every so often like the batteries in our smoke detectors? If we can not look to the public servants tasked with upholding the Constitution with an expectation that the clauses outlined within will be carried out, it is time to elect new public servants.
I find the intense reaction to RFRA discouraging in another way as well.
Whether appropriate or not, much of the blame for this whole debacle is falling on the plates of conservative politicians, who were elected by a conservative electorate.
Let me speak more clearly.
Much of the blame for this law is being placed on the shoulders of those who claim to follow the teachings of Jesus. Much of the blame is being placed on my shoulders, and on the shoulders of those I live and work with. While I do not live in Indiana, I am part of a church there, a collection of people who seek to follow the teachings of Jesus. I have influenced those who live in Indiana and feel like I bear some of the responsibility assigned to us.
Frankly, I do not think we are unfairly burdened with the responsibility.
Each of us who follow Christ has likely heard a story of persecution brought against “our people” by “the enemy”. Perhaps the most popular example is of a baker who was approached by a gay couple and asked to bake a cake for their wedding or commitment ceremony. The baker refuses, citing religious beliefs, and is then sued for a civil rights violation. The story usually concludes with the bakery closing as a result of the suit. Afraid that this story was only a story, I searched for and found several different versions of this story reported by various media outlets across the United States. Based on the evidence I have found, I can not deny that this has happened more than once to more than one Christian bakery. It is a true story.
Another true story can be found in Matthew 5. During his sermon on the mount, Jesus laid at the feet of the masses a worldview that was completely foreign to their understanding of the Old Testament. Before Jesus told us that we must be perfect as our heavenly father is perfect, he asked us to give to the one who begs from us. Before he told us to walk two miles with someone who forces us to go one, Jesus told us to give our cloak to the person suing us for our tunic. Our cheeks were to be turned and offered to the people who struck us, and the loss of our eyes was not to be avenged. We were asked to hold ourselves to a higher standard than any religious leader of the day had so far put forth, and we were asked to love our neighbors and pray for those who persecute us.
In exchange for our obedience to the requests Jesus makes in Matthew 5, we are promised that our persecution would result in our blessing. We are told that if we make peace, we would be called sons of God. Jesus goes so far as to say that we should rejoice and be glad of our great reward in heaven, secured for us by the persecution directed against us.
A baker I am not…
I do not own a bakery (for readily apparent reasons), but if I did, I hope that I would find the strength to go willingly the extra and uncomfortable mile when it was asked of me. Perhaps someday I will have an opportunity to serve someone who is seeking to do me harm. I hope I do not mind a little pain today for the promise of a great reward in the future. Until my opportunity to do so arises, I will continue to ask myself what it might look like to give to the person who is suing me more than they ask for.
Do not ask the government to legislate away our chance at a blessing promised by Jesus.
Go two miles when you are only asked to go one.
