Laws that should be broken

We can’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for the civil servant, who was clearly uncomfortable but too cowardly to do the right thing. But in watching this cringeworthy video, a reasonable question arises: Why didn’t Vaughan-Spruce just say she wasn’t praying? For that matter, why did Adam Smith-Connor, the man similarly arrested outside another abortion shop and currently awaiting trial, openly admit to local officials that he was indeed praying silently, too?

Often, when someone who has done something courageous is later asked what gave him the strength to do it, he’ll say something like, “I don’t know, I just did it.” That’s not always false humility. Maybe some decisions are so uncomplicated and rational that the alternative doesn’t even occur to people. Maybe for Vaughan-Spruce and Smith-Connor, lying about praying never seemed like an option—and maybe that was because the goodness of the Lord is their strength and a law against prayer simply doesn’t compute.

What if every Christian began treating irrational and evil laws, procedures, or even social norms as they ought to be treated—by refusing to comply? What if we refuse to put our “preferred pronouns” on our medical forms? What if we stopped walking past the LGBTQ pride display at the library without at least mentioning—politely—to the librarian that I just want you to know I wish this wasn’t here; kids don’t want or deserve this? What if we explicitly demanded the pediatrician, the nurse, or the teacher not speak to our children about their “gender identity”?

If these buffer zone arrest videos coming out of the U.K. are any indication, the people tasked with enforcing these laws realize how absurd they are. Most of the time, these policies aren’t written by actual law enforcement officers, self-respecting medical professionals, or conscientious teachers. They’re written by bureaucrats and grandstanders who will never actually have to put their bad ideas into practice.

I’ve heard stories from doctors and nurses who know that the gender madness is delusional but feel trapped into going along with it at work. I know teachers who see the damage that progressive ideology is doing to the minds and hearts of their students but who don’t know how to stop it and keep their jobs. Many of these compelled enforcers are dying for someone to say something. Sure, maybe they should speak up anyway, despite the risks. But if they don’t, couldn’t Christians do it for them—as well as for our neighbors, who are also subject to their authority?

Cultural winds are a numbers game. These laws, policies, and norms got traction in the first place because the people with the bad ideas applied good pressure. Christians ought to start applying the same kind of pressure—just aimed in the right direction: Are we praying? Yes, we are. Why, do you want to join us?