Some thoughts on Kim Davis

I wonder if Kim Davis ever wanted to be on TV? As everybody knows, she is the Kentucky Court Clerk who refused to grant a marriage license to a homosexual couple. That got her on TV for the last couple of weeks. Naturally, I’ve been thinking about this.

The Government
How did the government respond to Kim Davis? Arrested her. Seems to me to be a little over the top. I realize she broke the law, but other government officials have broken the law or not upheld the law and have not been arrested immediately. Consider Lois Lerner. She was the Internal Revenue Service official who was illegally harassing conservative political groups. She broke the law, was never arrested, and was allowed to retire and receive a pension! She was questioned but refused to cooperate. Never arrested. Kim Davis was arrested and no bail was set. The judge said there were groups who would pay her bail so he wouldn’t set one. What? Since when does the judge care how you get the money together? We know that the current darling law of the government is homosexual marriage. And we know that conservative Christians oppose this. The government wants to stifle all resistance and here was an opportunity to make an example of those (Christians) who resist. I don’t think she was singled out per se (Let’s get Kim Davis), or that Christians were targeted, but it was a perfect opportunity to stifle resistance to their beloved new direction.

The Clerk
Kim Davis is a Christian who objects to homosexual marriage and, because of this religious conviction, chose not to issue marriage certificates to homosexual couples. Officials offered her an alternative, You may refuse but let one of your staff issue them. She rejected this offer. I don’t know Kim Davis, so I don’t know why she refused, but I admit, the offer sounds reasonable to me. It may be her objection was, My name is on the certificate no matter who issues it. I don’t know.

The Reaction
I was amazed at the reaction when this hit the news. I refer to social media. Anger. Venom. Hatred. If there were still coliseums with lions . . . Then there was the regional bigotry: She looks so stupid, just like Kentucky; Look how she dresses, she’s so stupid; Those backwater Kentucky people are so stupid. These personal attacks came from people who would have had a cow if Kim Davis had been quoted  saying something like that. Interesting.

Ah, then there are those people who cried, “It’s the law, she has to do it.” The law is suddenly sacrosanct. Inviolable. Really? Let’s consider immigration. Every level of government ignores immigration laws. And when the state of Arizona was enforcing the immigration laws on the books, the federal government rebuked and threatened the Governor of Arizona. Were these people screaming, “It’s the law!” No. But then, gay marriage is a cherished law, and this law must be enforced with all haste. Civil disobedience has a long history in the US and when it is carried out against nuclear facilities, or a war, or Wall Street, it’s cool. But not in this case. “It’s the law”.


This incident is enlightening. It’s one of many recent incidents that reveal the direction of the country. And in my opinion, it’s only going to get worse. Pastors and churches are likely to be targeted before long. The train has left the station, man, get on board or get slammed. And what about all these “tolerance loving” people? Another example that tolerance is a one way street. Woe to the Christian who stands for righteousness and calls sin sin. But then, this really isn’t new. The Apostle Peter, speaking by the Holy Spirit, forewarned us, Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you.

These are trying times. How are we supposed to respond to laws we believe to be unrighteous? What if the law says you can't give birth at home? can't homeschool? can't breastfeed in public? can't teach your children about Jesus? You say, "Now you're just being ridiculous, there are no laws like that." Really? You need to get out more. We need wisdom. And boldness.

We ought to obey God rather than men.

That Pestiferous Virginia Creeper

That Pestiferous Virginia Creeper

This morning I went around the backyard cutting down plants that I didn’t want growing in my yard. I had noticed a plant with bright green leaves growing in the grass next to a dogwood and had mowed it down a couple of times, but it came back with alarming speed. Today I decided to put an end to this and began plucking it up. It was Virginia Creeper and it had runners all through that part of the yard. I’m talking serious runners.

This is 10-12 feet long!

Earlier this summer I had pulled it out of the shrubbery and thought maybe I had taken care of it. Ha! I think all I did was make it angry and it attacked the yard with a vengeance. Here is a photo of all the runners I plucked up from the yard.

I think pestiferous is an apt description. As is pernicious and malevolent. I think it is evil. Or perhaps it is better to say it is a good illustration of evil and sin – where you see the leaf is not necessarily where it came from; it will send out a runner a long way, getting well rooted before the leaf pops up. How do you deal with it? Carefully pull up the runners until you get to the root. (I guess I could spray it with something, but since I don’t use pesticides I’m left with my method ☺).

I dealt with pestiferous this morning, what did you do?

Do you ever think about time?

I was sitting in a chair on the beach. I was separated from the others, sitting close to the water so I could keep an eye on Ryan and Chase (and Dan, too!). Drew, my soon-to-be-thirteen year old grandson, plopped a chair down next to me and sat down. Do you ever think about time?

I replied, “All the time.” He laughed. It took me a moment to realize what I had said.

Then we discussed time: What is it? Is it real or an illusion? Clocks and more. What a neat thing it was to discuss something I’m fascinated by with my grandson!!

And, as it is with all good discussions, I continued to think about it afterwards. I must confess, while I did explain that God created time, I didn’t say anything about Genesis. But it did come to mind later.

Genesis 1:14-18
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:  
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.  
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.  
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,  
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

God created time, and the markers for time: the sun, the moon, and the stars. This passage mentions day, night, seasons, and years. The moon rules the night and is also the marker for the month. Natural time, or time in nature, is the day, the night, the month, the seasons (solstice and equinox), and the year.

Early man was keenly aware of this and many ancient structures were built based on the movement of the sun. Did I say many, I mean a lot. While ancient people were aware of this, sadly, we have calendars and are unaware of the movement of the sun and moon. Many of us barely even notice the new and full moon.

Then there is the seven day week. Where does this come from? You cannot come to this from the movement of the sun or moon, and yet it is recognized worldwide. God established it when he created the world: six days of creating, one day of rest.

What about the calendar and the clock? These are man-made. But the calendar is based on the sun (year), the moon (months), and the seven days of creation (week). The clock, on the other hand, is an arbitrary division of the day into smaller units (hours, minutes, seconds). When you are away from clocks, you are not aware of hours and minutes, but you are aware of time – the movement of the sun across the sky, the lateness of the day, the onset of night. If you are separated from the clock and calendar long enough, you are aware of day, night, month, season, and year, but you will have no idea of the hour, and without effort on your part, you will not know the day of the week.

Time is real and I’m fascinated by it. The earth tirelessly rotates and revolves around the sun. The moon orbits the earth. Day and night and month and season and year, creation never wearies in its obedience to the Creator. It silently obeys whether I pay attention or not. And yet, how glorious it is when I pay attention!

I love the questions my grandchildren ask me!