With a population of less than 24,000 people, Rowan County, Kentucky is an unlikely place to capture the attention of our nation. However, a titanic moral and legal battle erupted when two residents of the county seat of Morehead refused to be denied a marriage license. Now, James Yates and William Smith, Jr. are married and county clerk Kim Davis served time in jail for her refusal to issue licenses to same-sex couples. While I have a deep abiding belief that our government should not discriminate against anyone who desires to get married, I have found myself strangely drawn to Kim Davis.
“What the fuck is she wearing?” “I wish she would just crawl up in a hole and die.” “Does she put shit in her hair?” “How many times has she been married?” The language has been intense. I promised myself that I wasn’t going to write about Kim Davis. I refused to engage the circus. Honestly, I wasn’t going to write a damn word until I started reading the comments. Ranging from offensive to rude to downright evil, I read word after word attacking Kim Davis in every imaginable way. When I paused to pray, I realized that Kim Davis was our salvation.
In Matthew 5:44, Jesus commanded, “…love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” We are commanded to love and pray for Kim Davis. In 1 John 4:8, the writer declares, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love…” Those who do not love Kim Davis do not know God for God is love. In multiple places, Jesus says that amongst the greatest commandments is to “love our neighbor as ourselves.” Our job is to love Kim Davis as our self. We must do our job. The only way that we can experience salvation is to give ourselves over to love for our enemies. Since Kim Davis has become the object of our scorn, she has also become the object of our salvation.
Amen.
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