Loving Much

We need to address two things stemming from the battle of Rowan County, Kentucky: 1) the possible motivation for Kim Davis’ stubborn defiance of the courts; and 2) the possible motivation for the courts releasing her after only a few days in jail.  We’ll address the first issue today, and tomorrow we’ll cover the possible motivation for the quick change of heart with respect to the court.

Why was Kim Davis willing to face the harangue of the liberal media, lose a rather secure and well-paying job, and go to jail?  If you listen to the variety of answers from liberals, you will hear things like; “Because she’s a religious nut with no objectivity!”  “Because she wants the attention.”  “Because she’s Bill Maher’s first cousin and she’s sick of his ‘religulous’ attitude (esp. during Christmas).”  Actually, for the gullible, the last one will not get a green dot on snopes.com.  Seriously though, if you stop and think about Mrs. Davis’ actions (past and present) the answer for her stubbornness is rather simple.  With respect to things most Christians only give lip service to (i.e. standing up for Jesus), she actually believes it’s important and is willing to do it.

“Wait a minute,” says the liberal in the back of the room.  “She can’t believe those things, look how many times she’s been married!  For crying out loud, she’s cherry-picking the sections of the Bible she wants to believe.  Hypocrite!  Give her a scarlet letter!”  Not so fast Mr. Liberal Compassion, maybe she’s so committed because she understands the difference between her past life and the current life she desires to lead.  There’s a story in Luke 7:36-50 that ties in very well to this Kentucky show down.

I’ll summarize Luke 7:36-50.  Jesus was invited to eat at the home of a religious leader named Simon.  At some point during the meal, a woman of ill repute boldly made her way into the home and poured perfume on Jesus’ feet while wiping them with her tears and hair.  When Simon saw this, he didn’t verbalize anything, but he said to himself, “If Jesus were really a prophet, then he would know this woman is a sinner and he would not let her touch him.”  Jesus, knowing Simon’s thoughts, said to him, “Simon, if there was a man who owed a creditor $10 and another man owed the same creditor $10,000—and both of them were forgiven their debts by the creditor, who do you think would be more thankful?  Simon replied, “I assume the one who was forgiven more.”

“You are correct,” Jesus said.  Then he continued, “When I came into your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has washed my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.  You did not kiss me, but this woman has not ceased to kiss my feet.  You did not anoint my head with oil, but this woman has anointed my feet.  I’ll tell you something Simon, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, thus she loves much—but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

The woman in Luke 7 did not care that she was improperly entering the home of a religious leader.  The women did not care about the ridicule she would receive from the self-righteous people gathered around the table.  She cared about one thing—honoring Jesus Christ.  How does this tie into the battle in Rowan County?  Seems pretty clear to me.  No one knows that Kim Davis is a sinner better than Kim Davis.  I’d like to believe that she’s actually sincere about the new commitments she’s made with her life.  Regardless of her past, she’s more committed to standing up for what’s right than the vast majority of church-goers in America.  She knows that she has been forgiven much.  For that reason, she loves much, and those who love much are committed much.  How committed are you?