Christians, here's solution to 'gays' suing your businesses
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” – Matthew 10:16
Christians are losing because of their lack of wisdom. Let me explain.
A lesbian couple sued and won a discrimination lawsuit against Christian farm owners Robert and Cynthia Gifford of New York after they refused to allow a same-sex wedding on their scenic property.
Despite the fact that the Christian business owners have hosted same-sex events and have even hired homosexuals, a New York judge ruled that they were in violation of that state’s anti-discrimination laws and fined them $13,000. As a result, the Giffords have now stopped hosting weddings altogether.
According to their attorney, “The couple has decided to stay true to their religious convictions, even though it will likely hurt their business.”
That’s unfortunate. Too many Christians lack real wisdom when dealing with evil; and as a result, they are losing their livelihoods and suffering unnecessarily.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Consider this …
What if, instead of closing their businesses, the Christians agreed to allow the same-sex union ceremonies on their property, but told the lesbian couple upfront that they would take their money and donate it to a conservative Christian law firm to fight against same-sex marriage? In other words, what if they took the sinners’ money and used it for good?
I floated this idea on my radio program and received calls from solid, stand-up Christians who could not even consider the possibility of doing this. They said that providing the service would go against their conscience and equated it to condoning the sin. But to me, using the sinners’ money to help restore God’s order is the right thing to do.
Some Christians may feel like they’re compromising their principles, but consider the outcome of these recent examples of well-meaning Christians who took what appeared to be a principled stance against evil without – in my opinion – the benefit of God-revealed wisdom:
- The owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, an Oregon bakery, refused to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple, and are facing hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines after they were found guilty of violating the couple’s civil rights.
- Jack Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cake Show in Colorado, was ordered by a judge to either provide his service for gay weddings or face fines. Mr. Phillips has vowed to stop making wedding cakes completely.
- New Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled in August that two Christian photographers who declined to photograph a same-sex union violated the state’s Human Rights Act.
- The Washington state attorney general filed a lawsuit against a florist who refused to provide flowers for a same-sex couple’s wedding.
It’s commendable that these Christians are taking a stand, but I believe that their methods are unwise and are causing them undue suffering.
LGBT groups have deep pockets, and most small businesses cannot afford to spend tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in protracted legal battles. And even if Christians can afford to do battle in court, they often lose when they appear in front of liberal judges who are sympathetic to homosexuals.
But I say that Christians can have their cake and eat it, too!
Taking the sinners’ money does not equate to condoning the sin. It just means that we would be better funded and equipped to do battle.
The Bible says: “We are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” – Romans 8:37
“And he called his ten servants, and delivered to them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.” – Luke 19:13
It’s our duty, as God’s children to fight to win – not “occupy” in the modern sense of just showing up without any real hope of victory. We need to be thinking like Mel Gibson in the movie “Ransom” where – instead of playing the typical victim – he turns the tables on his son’s kidnappers.
If every Christian business owner had the mindset of using the sinners’ money for the good and said: “I don’t condone your sin, but I’ll take your money and use it to fight against you” – the outcome would be good and pleasing to God.
If Christians did this, here’s what would happen:
Homosexuals would stop trying to force us to provide services for their “weddings” because they would know that we would use their money to fight against their destructive idea of marriage.
And since we would be following the law (until we can change it), we’d be less likely to be sued. If we were sued, we would likely win because we would not be “discriminating” against anyone.
Many Christians who stand rigidly on principle without wisdom feel a false sense of righteousness, and suffer merely to show how holy they are. God’s children should be persecuting sinners with the rod of truth; instead, Christians are the ones being persecuted for their lack of wisdom.
This is how our faith instructs us to deal with evil. If we go on the offensive with wisdom and boldness, we cannot lose. It’s time for Christians to stop losing and become “more than conquerors” once again.