WHEN TWO LAWS DON’T MAKE A RIGHT (Part 1)

            The Christian Scriptures instruct Christians to obey laws and respect those who adopt and enforce them.  Jesus orders His followers to “render unto Caesar” what is rightfully his. Paul states government is constituted as an instrument of God’s will for ordering human life.  But there are provisions for Christian behavior when government fails or perverts its mission.  In Acts 4 and 5 Peter and John are ordered by the Jewish high council to stop speaking in the Name of Jesus.  They reply that the council must do what it will, but they will obey God rather than men in cases of conflicting interests.

             Even then the default position is to operate within and through civil law.  Paul secures his chance to share his faith with the Roman emperor by appealing his case, not by storming the gates.  The greatest danger – when contemplating resistance to the state –  is that we will become self-righteous, step over the line, and excuse our own bad conduct with a “they made us do it” attitude.

            That said, I believe the Church has reached the uncomfortable position of Peter and John.  California laws SB 1172, AB 777, and SB 48 forbid psychotherapists to help gender confused youth on the one hand and compel teachers to declare homosexuality is good on the other – regardless of professional judgment or religious conviction.  Authorities in several states punish businesses for declining same-sex marriages albeit referring people to houses that will service them.  The Obama Administration penalizes refusals on faith to purchase abortions for employees.  I am not even mentioning cases of citizens forbidden to name or discuss God in public settings from shopping malls to city councils.  These violate First Amendment rights and the numbers keep rising.  Many are too intimidated to seek legal assistance, although it is readily available.

            Some law abiding citizens have had their guns confiscated and many laws are being adopted or proposed that clearly trash Second Amendment rights.

            It is not all about constitutionality.  AB 1266 – the Bathroom Bill – expects school children to tolerate opposite sex members using their bathrooms if they feel like the gender they are not.  This is potentially traumatizing to more than 99% of children and risks access for sexual predators – they come in all ages.  This law may not violate the constitution, but it certainly begs the right of children to be safe at school and should be intolerable to any parent.  It is not unconstitutional to charge landowners a tax labeled a fire fee and refuse to refund fees already collected when a court orders the state to do so – it is just plain illegal – and another example of government operating outside its own parameters.  But it is not acceptable, and should not be accepted.

            We won’t even start with murder in Benghazi, mobilizing the IRS to harass political enemies, or spying on law abiding citizens because government has the means to do it.  We’ll just ask what a law-abiding citizen who serves God should be doing about the situation.  There are at least two things that pass Biblical muster and promise positive results.

            First, enter a process of identificational and personal repentance.  We are not talking about wearing a hair shirt or beating ourselves up.  Of course repentance includes – usually begins – with a no-holds-barred self examination.  Repenting on behalf of lawless government officials means asking what issues of pride, self centrality, and the arrogance of playing God might motivate outrageous abuse of power.  But we had better turn that same unblinking eye on ourselves because none of us is any better than the people we choose to lead us.  Jesus says as much in Luke 13:1-5.  But repentance is useless if we do not use the opportunity re-focus on God, to seek a clearer vision of Who He is and the persons He would create us to be.  That’s the good and the lifegiving part. 

            Second, we enter a process of providing positive alternatives to the status quo we deplore.  To use the Bathroom bill as just one example, what would happen if churches trained a large number of parents and grandparents to volunteer on campuses to patrol restrooms and – gently and lovingly – tell the boy who wants to use the girls’ room he will have to wait until the girl inside comes out.  Would the schools benefit across the board with a host of new volunteers seeking only to bless as they protect?  Reality is that it is time for Christians to stand together to say, “No.”  But remember the One to Whom we say, “Yes,” is far more important than the ones to whom we say no.