Many Christians think they can bring their faith into their business to the point of refusing to serve certain groups of people they disagree with morally. There have been a flurry of lawsuits against; bakers, photographers, bed ‘n breakfasts, wedding consultants by homosexuals pleading their case they are being discriminated against. In a sense, I agree with the homosexuals that they are being discriminated against. But, many questions are begged by these scenarios: 1. “Do we have to actually participate in ceremonies, or rituals that violate our conscience as Christians? 2. “Do Christians that serve the public in general with a money making business, expect all the public to be holy as they are holy?” If not, why do they only choose to not serve the homosexual couple who is getting married? 3. What about the heterosexual couple who has been fornicating and decides it’s time to marry because they are pregnant? Do the bakery owners say, wait a minute, I can’t in good conscience serve you because you are pregnant out of wedlock, we don’t serve fornicators. 4. Are the business owners that agree with the homosexual lifestyle or actually homosexuals just as willing to serve customers who are not in agreement? 5. When did judging or discriminating against immoral practices become a crime in America? 6. Are there any limits to discrimination against discrimination? 7. Who has the moral high ground to make determinations what is right or wrong?
In this article, I would like to look at some differing perspectives and ask ourselves would we actually expect them morally or logically to ‘serve’ the customer.
The first example I’d like to give is a Gentile who desires to have smoked pulled pork served at his wedding gathering of 500 family and friends. He goes to the local Jewish Kosher meat market and attempts to place his order. The owner of the business looks at him in horror and exclaims, “Sir, we are a kosher market. Our religion forbids us to even touch swine, much less cook it and serve it to you.” The enraged customer curses the shop owner, finds a lawyer, and begins the effort to bring that business to it’s financial ruin because of it’s refusal to serve swine at his very important event. The Jewish religion for thousands of years has taught against the handling of pork, bat, ostrich, and other forms of meat which they will not even touch. How can they be forced to process something that so intrinsically goes against their faith?
The next scenario is a professing Christian woman who goes into an Islamic burka market. She would like a nice pink polka dotted bikini for her trip to Panama City Beach for spring break. When she gets into the store she notices that there are very few colors of anything and there are just no bikinis stocked anywhere. All she sees are rows and rows of very neatly ironed burkas in three differing colors. She seeks help from the woman at the counter as to why the store doesn’t stock two piece bikinis. The burka clad woman isn’t able to express her facial expression of disgust to the bikini seeker. Her religion requires her to cover even her face as an expression of her modesty toward Allah, all the adherents of her religion, and an example even to the infidel. The lady at the counter begins to explain, “We don’t sell bikinis here as we believe them to be immodest and not what god(allah) wants us to do. “Really!!! You have got to be kidding me!”, retorts the infuriated woman. She is red faced, embarrassed, and in her heart is desiring to seek vengeance against the shop owner. As the professor of Christ runs out of the store she begins to formulate her strategy. “I will get a good ‘Christian’ lawyer. We will sue the burkas off the business owners who are so judgmental and discriminatory against me!” In a country that professes to have freedom of religion, why is the Muslim woman possibly forced to stock and sell something to a customer who they are not even in the market for.
In another setting, we have an American patriot who owns a gun store where he legally trades in guns and ammunition even carrying assault rifles which can be modified to make them fully automatic which is perfectly legal under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. He has grown up in his community all of his life and is an upstanding lawful citizen of that community. Recently a group of anarchists have moved into the county doing weapons training openly and recruiting people to their cause. They approach him to sell them weapons which he understands would lead them to greater fire power. This according to their own literature will lead to the eventual overthrow of the government. Of course, he refuses to sell them the weapons and he is quickly served a subpoena to appear in civil court on charges of judging and discriminating against the group being a hateful gun shop owner who will not distribute weapons to a professed group of anti government rebels. The judge carefully considers the matter and rules in the anarchist’s favor ignoring all the warnings of the preponderance of the evidence in support of the gun shop owner.
Lastly, in the not too distant future there was a strong Christian family of nine who loved the Lord Jesus Christ and sought to serve Him in every way. The lived their lives in peace with all men as much as possible with them. They paid their taxes and obeyed all the laws of the land. They home schooled their families primarily because the Holy Bible teaches that the parents are responsible to train up the children in the way they should go. They also understood the propensity in the public school environment of all the violence, poor instructional standards, bullying, drugs, and teen sexual pressures from which they were interested in protecting their children. In the course of time, a known pedophile moves into the area. He approaches the family to provide tutelage and child care services to the couple. The mother and father are immediately alarmed by the known history of the sexual predator and politely refuse his ‘service’ citing his criminal history. He is quickly offended saying he has been reformed by the penal system which he was just released from. “Why won’t you give me a chance with your children!”, he screams running out of their home. He threatens to sue the family for personal damages discriminating and judging him which is causing him harm, preventing current and future employment.
Are businesses that serve the general public required to give services to anyone no matter what their behaviors or lifestyles? What would you do in these scenarios? These are moral dilemma’s for the business owners and parents that they should not be forced to submit their businesses or families to choose between. The problem of course is the root of it all which is sin. The homosexuals as a group decry intolerance and yet are very intolerant of true Christian worldviews which expose their sexual immorality as sin. Thus, they intolerantly pursue legal claims in order to force the owners of the businesses to do their will when they very well could go to dozens or scores of other businesses which even desire to serve that group of clientele. We as Christians must let the world know regularly that the God of the Bible condemns all sins including this most flagrant one of homosexuality.
I want to for a moment be an advocate for the homosexual views in this matter. If you desire to make a standard of not serving people because they are in homosexuality, then you must recognize that most everyone coming into your shop is in some kind of sin. To be consistent we would have to refuse service to most people. First question when a customer enters the door, “Good morning, are you in any kind of sin? We don’t serve sinners here.” In fact, most ‘Christians’ I speak with will say illogical things like, “We are all sinners, we sin everyday.” If that is the case then we couldn’t serve most ‘believers’ in America today. If we want to be consistent with the ‘Serve No Sinner’ business policy we must turn away most of our customers. I think many well meaning Christian business owners make this poorly judged mistake of discriminating against one particular group of homosexual sinners because we know it is a very serious sin.
I would like to offer what is a consistent Christians strategy to help these business owners and all true Christians who are obviously being targeted by the homosexual agenda. My suggestions are to serve the homosexuals in regards to cakes, photography, bed & breakfast, wedding planning, etc. But, at every opportunity share your faith with them, call them to repentance of their wickedness including homosexuality, faith in Christ, and be born again of the Holy Spirit. Leave Gospel tracts everywhere you go when you are serving them. Here are some of my favorites. Good Gospel Tracts Ensure that every opportunity is given as a chance to glorify Jesus.
Instead of saying,” I am sorry I can’t serve you because you are homosexual.” Say, “I am willing to serve you but to be fair to you I am a very out of the closet Christian, who shares my faith calling people to repent from sin and trust Jesus. Do you know that homosexuals as well as all other sinners will end up in a lake of fire and torment as Jesus Christ taught? Do you know that God is an equal opportunity condemner and an equal opportunity forgiver?” Make sure you record any and all interactions at least with audio that no false accusations may be made against you. If you actually make it to the ‘gay-la’ event it would be a great opportunity to open air preach to the whole lot of the homosexual supporters to include the happy couple. I know this sounds pretty radical, but to be salt and light in this wicked generation it will take some seriously radical saints of the Most High God. I doubt that your services would be desired even after the first communication/correspondence. But, even if you had to go all the way through the process, you are blameless as you have done it to glorify Jesus. I know that if Christians would just stand up for the truth of Jesus Christ and actually speak those truths, the Lord will protect and bless you. However, even if your bold faith costs you everything in this life to include your business, your customers, your friends, your family, and dare I say it, even your life, isn’t He worthy of it? The world and the devils want you to compromise your faith even to the point that you even deny Jesus Christ, Himself. Who will you serve, God or money? Would you sacrifice your business, your customers, your friends, your family, and even your life on the altar of the Father’s business? Will you seek and save that which is lost by telling them to turn from their sin and surrender to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?
Christian man denied service by a series of pro homosexual bakeries who will not bake a pro traditional marriage cake. CAUTION: Explicit language due to hard condition of the sinner’s hearts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJaroR_qTNs
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLWvoaHMMRY]
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