Need for Employment Clarity

Today is known as Tax Day, the deadline for filing federal income taxes, and where applicable, state income taxes.  And, as it's been pointed out, when we owe taxes to our governing officials, we can actually celebrate God's provision - because He has blessed us with income.  Kinda changes the focus, doesn't it?  And, our taxes actually go into governmental coffers in order to hire employees who will implement the laws of our land. In Matthew 22 (ESV), we see a snapshot from the life of Jesus, where the Pharisees were attempting to lay a trap for Him - they said:
17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?
19 Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius.
20 And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”
21 They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.”
22 When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.

In Romans 13, Paul writes in verse 7: "Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed."  Various agencies of government, charged with making critical decisions every day, are funded by our tax dollars.

It was great to have Emily Washburn from The Daily Citizen of Focus on the Family on The Meeting House on Faith Radio recently to discuss the recent jury decision regarding irresponsibility on the part of social media companies.   Several weeks ago, she covered another story, this one having to do with the implementation of employment law.  She wrote about the The Fair Treatment of Religious Organizations Act, which has been introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives, "would prohibit the federal government from refusing religious organizations tax-exempt status or federal funding eligibility based solely on their beliefs about marriage and sexuality."

The article notes, "The act addresses legislative uncertainty caused by the Supreme Court’s infamous ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, which changed the definition of 'sex' in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include sexual orientation and so-called gender identity." I will note that this decision became part of a plethora of attempts to change that definition in other areas of public life; for instance, allowing males to play in female sports is a result of a similar attempt to change it.  Washburn notes: "When the Supreme Court redefined sex in Title VII to include protections for sexual orientation and 'gender identity,' it didn’t just undermine Congress’ original intent — it gave left-wing idealogues legal power over religious employers."

As the Daily Citizen article states:

Justice Neil Gorsuch explicitly acknowledged the problem Bostock posed for religious organizations in his majority opinion, writing:

We are … deeply concerned with preserving the promise of the free exercise    of religion enshrined in our Constitution; that guarantee lies at the heart of
 our Constitution.

Though Justice Gorsuch went so far as to sketch out what religious exemptions to Bostock might look like —rooted in the First Amendment, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and existing legal exemptions for religious employers — the protections remained theoretical, and religious organizations remained on eggshells.

Gorsuch wrote the majority opinion in Bostock.  And, even the justice was aware of its implications.  And, even the EEOC has fought back; the article relates:

It was only this January that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) voted to rescind its “Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace,” which would have forced federal and private sector employers — including religious employers — to abide by Bostock’s expanded definition of sex discrimination, including forcing women to share private spaces with biological men.

When the ruling was issued, Focus on the Family President Jim Daly was quoted by The Daily Citizen; he said: "There is only one word for what the Court has done today: legislation...Our concern now is for how future courts and public officials will apply this decision against people of deep faith who own businesses, run religious educational institutions and continue to adhere to the biblical definitions of marriage and family. I fear this increasingly legislative-oriented majority has sown the wind and now innocent people of good will and faith will reap the whirlwind.”

It's interesting how certain Supreme Court justices warned of negative implications toward people of faith in writing decisions that threatened them; Gorsuch did that here, then-justice Kennedy did it in Obergefell.  He wrote: "...it must be emphasized that religions, and those who adhere to religious doctrines, may continue to advocate with utmost, sincere conviction that, by divine precepts, same-sex marriage should not be condoned. The First Amendment ensures that religious organizations and persons are given proper protection as they seek to teach the principles that are so fulfilling and so central to their lives and faiths, and to their own deep aspirations to continue the family structure they have long revered."

Try telling that to Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who had an appeal of a court judgment against her turned back recently by the Supreme Court.  Or, others who have found themselves rhetorically - and legally - bludgeoned by the force of the LGBT forces.  In our country, we must continue to hold the practice of faith in high regard.  And, recognize that our nation was founded on principles that are consistent with the Bible. Bostock and Obergefell gave special rights to those who practice behavior that conflicts with Scripture, and we should pray and petition lawmakers to make amends for laws that violate our founding principles.

Kudos to the House of Representatives in Tennessee, which voted that "...same-sex marriages do not have to be recognized in the state of Tennessee," according to Nashville's News Channel 5.  This is commonsense legislation that would right an egregious wrong that has opened up the floodgates to the practice of homosexual and transgender activity.  

While we should certainly show the love of Christ to those in our neighborhoods and workplaces who do not hold to a Biblical view of sexuality, that doesn't mean that we should not speak and act according to the directives of the Scriptures.