You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
—Jesus, in His sermon on the mount, as recorded in Matthew 5:13-16—
Also in this series: Lessons from Orlando; Lessons from Lakewood
Key points: By remaining faithful to Christ and to Scripture, Barronelle Stutzman, though hated by many, is displaying Christ and His truth both powerfully and effectively. Barronelle also is loved and appreciated by many, and she’s supported even by some who disagree with her about marriage. She has provided an example that all Christians should emulate.
Someone has well said that salvation is free—absolutely free. But it isn’t cheap. In other words, being an authentic Christian is costly. In 2 Timothy 3:12-13, the apostle Paul used these words to paint a picture of spiritual warfare: “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
Paul’s statements obliterate any notion that living an authentic godly life and declaring the truth will mean attracting a large following and no opposition. Jesus’ ministry demonstrates this. In Luke 14:25-33, the Master was at a point in His ministry where He had great many people following Him. Remarkably, He turned to the crowd and said some things that almost sound as if He was encouraging them to walk away.
25 Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— 29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.”
Previously, Jesus had declared,
If anyone desires to come after, Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and Follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.
I want to ask you a penetrating question. What have you sacrificed, or even risked, lately because you are a Christian?
What have you risked lately because you are a Christian?
Barronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene’s Flowers and Gifts in Richland, Washington, is risking everything. We have told her story many times here at Word Foundations, but in case you aren’t familiar with it, you can learn all about it here.
Learn about Barronelle Stutzman’s unexpected journey here.
What Do Those Who Know Barronelle Best Say?
In this post I want to highlight a recent positive development, not in Barronelle’s legal battle, but in her personal and professional life. Then I’d like to draw lessons from her entire journey—especially from the sterling example she has offered all believers as she has taken a strong stand for natural marriage and then responded to the accusations and legal challenges directed against her.
For seven years, the local newspaper in Richland, Washington—the Tri-City Herald1—has been naming local patrons’ choices for the best local shops in various categories. For four of those years, including 2019, Barronelle’s shop, Arlene’s Flowers and Gifts, has been named the shop where the Best Florist can be found.
Don Douglass and his mother, Arlene, first opened Arlene’s in 1977. Barronelle’s mother purchased the shop from them, and later, Barronelle bought it from her mother. “Now,” says Barronelle, “my daughters are thinking about buying it from me.”
Wow! That would mean Arlene’s would become “a third generation family business.” That certainly would be appropriate, the paper observed. In May, Arlene’s was selling corsages to “a third generation of high school promgoers.”
Because members of younger generations don’t purchase flowers as did their parents and grandparents, Barronelle and her associates do a significant amount of work to help customers honor family members who’ve passed away. Barronelle or a staff member will spend time talking with the deceased’s loved ones about a special interest the individual had or something he or she enjoyed doing. Based on that conversation, she might suggest an arrangement that highlights the individual’s special interest or hobby. Barronelle put it this way: “[I]f he was a fisherman, we might put a fishing pole in the arrangement. I’d like to think our customer service is a big key.”
Creativity is a vital ingredient in everything Arlene’s offers. It gives an arrangement a special touch. Here were some of Barronelle’s statements about the special service she and her staff endeavor to provide at her shop.
- “We want to take what they [our customers] have in their mind, then deliver what they want.”
- “We don’t just want to be a florist. We want to be your personal florist.”
- The key to Arlene’s longevity, according to Stutzman, is “our awesome customers.” Then she adds, “We like to custom design for people.”
All of this is transpiring against the backdrop of a torrent of threats and litigation against Barronelle. How does she cope?
When the Pressure Is on
Someone once observed that we’re all like toothpaste tubes. When the pressure’s on, what’s inside comes out. Immense pressure has been on in Barronelle’s life for a period of several years now, since she has taken a stand that now puts everything she owns at risk. Her stand is putting her reputation at risk, as well. Because of her refusal to provide and arrange flowers for a same-sex “wedding” (even though her refusal was cordial and polite), Barronelle has been accused of being bigoted and hateful. Is she?
As we stated in our summary of Barronelle’s journey, Rob Ingersoll, the one she turned down, had been a longtime customer and friend. She never hesitated to serve him; in fact, she was glad to do so. She serves everyone—but doing a custom arrangement for a same-sex ceremony would violate her conscience. Take note! The reason it would violate her conscience is that her faith teaches her that marriage is between a man and a woman and reflection of Christ’s relationship with His church.
Well, my faith teaches me that marriage is between a man and a woman, and it’s also [representative of] a covenant between Christ and His church. So for me to participate, or create something that would go against what God has said—I just can’t do that.
—Barronelle Stutzman—
Does a strong devotion to Christ make a person hateful? Is a Christian—a devout Christian, one who takes his or her faith seriously and seeks to live according to biblical principles—better able to relate to people, or more likely to have animus toward others?
Here is one possible way to respond to this question. Is it likely that a hateful individual would be named the Best Florist in her community for four out of seven years? I realize that the larger share of Barronelle’s customers made requests of her very different from the one Rob Ingersoll made of her after he and his partner decided they would formalize their relationship. Yet, again, up until the point at which Rob made this request, he and Barronelle were, and had been, friends!
A Stand Worth Taking
In a video titled “21 Questons with ‘The Washington Florist,'” Barronelle puts her sense of humor, as well as her core convictions, on display:
What is the best part of your job?
My customers and being creative.…
Why did you get sued?
That’s a good question. The attorney general and the ACLU sued me because I would not do a same-sex wedding.
Why didn’t you?
Because my faith teaches me that marriage is between a man and a woman.…
What do you stand to lose?
Everything—and I understand you have a spare bedroom.…
What religion are you?
My religion is my faith in Jesus Christ.
Do you have a favorite passage in the Bible?
There are lots of them, but I suppose my favorite is Isaiah 41:10.
How many children and grandchildren do you have?
We have 8 children, 22 grandchildren, and 3 great grandchildren.
What do they think of the attention you’re getting?
They’re worried about grandma and grandpa losing things, and my kids are worried about us losing your home and our retirement, and our life savings. And the grandkids are worried because there’s a not a lot of cookies in the cooke jar, because we’ve been really busy.
Do you have any regrets?
Absolutely not!
When Barronelle gave her answer the question about having regrets, her facial expression validated her answer. She spoke with total confidence. See it yourself; the exchange takes place on the video beginning at 2 minutes, 40 seconds.
The next question was this: “If you could say one thing to the gay couple you turned away, what would it be?”
With deep emotion and transparent sincerity, Barronelle responded, “If Rob came in my door today, I would hug him, and catch up on his life, and serve him for another ten years.”
Despite having no regrets, the Washington florist is honest about the difficulties she and her family have faced. Barronelle has said that the whole affair
has put a…sort of a cloud, I guess, around our family and around our business—thinking there might be people that would come in to harm us, or to harm my employees. That’s something I never wanted to see—never wanted to experience.
These are things a person can’t lightly dismiss. Whether or not Barronelle Stutzman and her husband lose everything for Christ’s sake, their willingness to risk doing so proves what kind of people they are. Like the saints of the Old Testament the writer of Hebrews describes in Hebrews 11, Barronelle and her husband are godly individuals “of whom the world was [and is] not worthy.”
Christ on Display
Let’s make sure we take note of just how significant all of this is. In Barronelle’s story we see an element that should give all people, Christians and non-Christians alike, profound pause. How can someone endure what Barronelle has endured, with all the uncertainties involved, yet still be so gracious, kind, and magnanimous? How can one living under such pressure have what it takes to win best local florist—repeatedly? I submit that the reason Barronelle can do these things is the very same reason she has been compelled not to compromise.2
She loves Jesus Christ more than all else and all others. He gives her the strength to continue on and the grace to treat others—all people—with genuine, authentic love.
For her Savior and Lord, Barronelle is willing to risk everything! And because pleasing Christ is more important to her than everything else, she is unencumbered by the trappings of this world and free to love Him—and others—with reckless abandon.
Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 4 come to mind. They fit Barronelle Stutzman, her situation, and her perspective perfectly. Read the entire chapter at your first opportunity, but until you can, reflect on these statements from the apostle.
4:1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart.… 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.…
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.…
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Barronelle is not a super-human individual; rather, she is exercising supernatural power that comes from God Himself. Paul wrote about how God works through His people in Galatians 5:22-23 when he named the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
As Jesus said in John 15:4-5,
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
People notice things like this.
Indeed, if they didn’t, it’s not likely you’d see Barronelle Stutzman take home the Best Florist award four out of seven years.
Observations to Take Home
Here is a list of some of the lessons coming out of Richland, Washington.
- People notice and are drawn to those who show a personal interest in them and who genuinely care about their well-being—things Christians are called to do in their relationships with others.
- Being a Christian means loving others, of course. But it means much more. It also means living according to a set of truths that is consistent with the teachings of the Bible and of Jesus Christ. Believers perform good works not for salvation, but from salvation.
- Barronelle’s Stutzman’s example demonstrates that being a Christian isn’t about living a super-human life, but a supernatural one, one empowered by God.
- Barronelle’s example demonstrates that a commitment to Jesus Christ empowers a person to love others—and to uphold the truth at the same time.
- Through adverse circumstances, God has given Barronelle Stutzman a platform larger than any she ever could have imagined, and one on which she is upholding the gospel and honoring Jesus Christ.
- The Holy Spirit enables Christians to display grace under pressure.
- Loving someone does not mean approving of everything they do.
- A Christian’s first duty is to honor Jesus Christ.
- Honoring Christ necessarily will mean focusing on invisible and intangible treasures rather than treasures that are visible and tangible in this life.
- Living faithfully for Christ will necessarily mean having opposition—and sometimes fierce opposition.
- Honoring Jesus Christ—truly honoring Him—can be very costly.
- Man-woman marriage is worth defending.
- Upholding marriage as the lifelong commitment between one man and one woman means upholding the gospel itself (also go here).
- A primary reason people are out to destroy Barronelle is that her stand for marriage reminds them, however subtly, of Christ’s relationship to His church, and consequently of the gospel itself. Because the gospel says people are guilty before God and must repent of their sins to have a relationship with Him, some people strongly oppose it and all who would seek to uphold it. They even will hate and seek to destroy such people.
- Christians should not be surprised when opposition and hatred is directed toward them. Jesus warned His followers this would happen.
- A genuine commitment to Christ will attract some people and repulse others.
- While some may wonder how refusing to do floral arrangements for a same-sex wedding demonstrates love, the answer is this: It never can be loving to participate in a lie, and that is exactly what a same-sex “wedding” is.
- Even a person who doesn’t believe a same-sex wedding is a lie should respect the perspective of the individual who does, and respect that person’s right to follow his or her conscience on the matter.
- When one person’s religious liberty is threatened, everyone else’s is threatened as well. If Barronelle loses her case, Christians everywhere will be adversely affected.
- Refusing to participate in or attend a same-sex ceremony is not necessarily an act of hate.
- Believing in marriage as a lifelong commitment between one man and one woman isn’t hateful—toward homosexuals or anyone else.
- Tolerance used to be a two-way street, but now it’s a one-way street. That means it isn’t tolerance at all, but coercion.
- The call for diversity isn’t a call for real diversity. Otherwise, Barronelle and her desires would be respected. The call for diversity today is a call for politically correct uniformity.
- Christians should support groups doing legal work to defend marriage, life, and religious liberty. Groups like Alliance Defending Freedom, Liberty Counsel, the American Center for Law and Justice, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the Rutherford Institute, and the Pacific Justice Institute are on the front lines in these important battles.
- God blesses those who seek to honor Him, despite whatever hardship or opposition they might face.
- Honoring Christ is worth the cost.
Copyright © 2019 by B. Nathaniel Sullivan. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture passages have been taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Notes:
1The Tri-Cities area consists of “three closely tied cities—Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland.”
2At one point, Barronelle was offered a settlement that would have levied on her a fine of $2,000, a $1 fee for costs, and required her to make a commitment she would not “discriminate” in the future. Barronelle turned the offer down. In a letter to Washington’s attorney general, Bob Ferguson, who was suing her, she wrote in part,
Our state would be a better place if we respected each other’s differences, and our leaders protected the freedom to have those differences.
Since 2012, same-sex couples all over the state have been free to act on their beliefs about marriage, but because I follow the Bible’s teaching that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, I am no longer free to act on my beliefs.
Washington’s constitution guarantees us “freedom of conscience in all matters of religious sentiment.”
I cannot sell that precious freedom.
After Barronelle turned down the settlement offer, “Benton County Superior Court Judge Alexander Ekstrom ruled on January 7, 2015 that she could be sued in her personal capacity.”
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