When Our Values Clash with Our Job Duties

This morning, I am thinking of Kim Davis, the clerk in Kentucky who has not issued marriage licenses to anyone since the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage.  She claims that her Christian beliefs mean that she must refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

I've thought of my own work life, where I have been lucky that I have never been asked/ordered to do something that my moral compass would not allow me to do.  I know that if I refused for longer than a day or two, I'd be on the path to dismissal.  But since Kim Davis occupies an elected position, it's not as simple.

I'm seeing lots of Internet posts and Facebook links that express outrage.  I understand the outrage.  But I also think about the history of civil disobedience. 

I've been intrigued by a recent post that notes that Kim Davis has only been a born-again Christian for 4 years.   That fact explains the 4 marriages, which happened before her conversion.

I find it interesting that no pastor has come forward--where is her home pastor, her home church?  Maybe they have found a national spotlight too, but I haven't been plugged in enough to see it.

I see lots of ranting about hypocrisy (see the 4 marriages, above), but less sympathy.  My leftist friends might ask why we need sympathy.

In Kim Davis, I see a situation that might happen to any of us who have values that are at odds with a moment of history--and the less dramatic moments too.  In Kim Davis, I see a woman who is trying to figure out what to do when her values clash with what her job has become, and that's a situation that could happen to any of us.