The freedom to be a creative Christian

There’s no denying it. American Christians are living under a form of persecution. We’re not at the point of losing our lives for refusing to deny our faith, but will we get there one day? It seems ludicrous, but not so long ago the idea that a Christian could lose his or her business for refusing to provide services for a so-called wedding between two men seemed just as ludicrous.

Even Christians who print messages on T-shirts are caught up in the absurdity. Imagine the government fining a business because the female owner refused to print T-shirts with a message that disparages women. Stretch your mind to envision the black baker paying a fine for declining to bake a cake for a Ku Klux Klan–themed wedding. I suspect the government wouldn’t care if a photographer turned down an adultery club’s request to photograph its annual “Cheaters Are Awesome!” celebration. Would a Jewish accountant who rejected a Holocaust denier’s request to do his taxes have to fear losing his house?

In our society, the “right” not to be offended by Christians has become a high principle. The Creator of the universe hates all sin and calls the sin of homosexuality an abomination. Those who believe His words and strive to be obedient to Him have the right under the U.S. Constitution to live those beliefs without fear of bankruptcy, imprisonment, or death.

In our society, the “right” not to be offended by Christians has become a high principle.

Some Christian business owners have decided to be proactive about government threats. Lorie Smith, a graphic designer, recently sued the state of Colorado “to challenge a state law that forces her to use her artistic talents to promote same-sex ceremonies if she creates custom websites and graphics celebrating weddings between one man and one woman.” Smith also contends that the law bars her from publicly stating her religious reasons for not promoting certain so-called marriages.

Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing Smith, calls the lawsuit a “pre-enforcement challenge.” According to ADF, it “allows citizens to challenge a law that threatens their rights before the government enforces it against them. Such lawsuits are the bread and butter of civil rights litigation, with organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood routinely filing them to attack laws they oppose, sometimes even prior to the effective dates of those laws.”

This same law hurt Jack Phillips, another ADF client from Colorado and the Christian owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, who was sued for refusing to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

We now have a government that has slouched toward degeneracy and threatens people who seek to maintain a sense of decency among the decay and practice their faith. The homosexual lobby, aided and abetted by a government propped up by the money we earn, can call us bigots and think nasty thoughts about us. But ours is a saving faith, and our God, the same one in whose image they’re made, is a living God.

While we render unto Caesar, we bow before no one but Jesus, and soon all will know the truth. In the meantime, we preach the gospel, petition our government, support and pray for believers who stand their ground, and pray for the lost.