by Howard Goldthwaite, Senior Director of Creative Strategy • 2 minutes
At First Liberty, our goal is always victory in court for our clients. Because that can take years of hard work, we love to celebrate our wins. But there’s an even greater victory that comes way before we ever set foot in a courtroom. In fact, it comes before First Liberty ever begins representing someone.
Whenever a person of faith boldly stands up for their beliefs—even when threatened with severe consequences—THAT is a huge victory. In fact, the risk of greater consequences always makes the victory that much greater.
The day high school teacher Marisol Arroyo-Castro was humiliatingly escorted out of her school with her belongings in a box simply because she refused to remove a small crucifix next to her desk, her unwavering courage was an inspiring victory for people of faith. After 30 years of teaching, with her job and pension at risk, she chose her faith over her job.
The day Coach Joe Kennedy knew he would be fired if he prayed one more time on the 50-yard line after a game – he prayed anyway. The school board kept its promise and fired him. But he kept the promise he had made to God. His humble act of faithfulness was the greatest victory ever won on the Bremerton High School football field.
The day Gerald Groff left his job under duress at the U.S. Postal Service after being denied time off to worship God on the Sabbath, he stayed true to his beliefs. The God he lives for was more important than how he earned a living.
The day Jocelyn Boden was told by her employer to humor a coworker by using disingenuous pronouns or be fired, Jocelyn chose to maintain her integrity by speaking truthfully. She stood up for what she knew was right. Days later, she was fired.
Physician assistant Valerie Kloosterman was terminated for seeking a religious accommodation from using biology-obscuring pronouns and from referring patients for “gender reassignment” drugs and surgeries. She was berated and quickly fired even after 17 years of faithful service.
It would have been so easy for any of these people to set their faith aside, put their light under a bushel, compromise their values, and do as they were told to keep their jobs. They were all faced with a hard choice, but they all made the right choice. They all stood strong, refused to take the easy way out, and won mighty victories. As Paul would say, “…they overwhelmingly conquered.”
No one should be forced to choose between their faith or their job. Many of these faith warriors have already been victorious in court, other cases we’re still fighting. But when these events occurred, with the despair and humiliation that comes from being forced out of a job, and not knowing if they could ever find a lawyer to represent them, it surely didn’t feel much like a victory. It felt like the dark side had won.
There’s a story in the Bible from ancient times about three men who didn’t simply have to choose between their faith or their job; they had to choose between their faith or their lives. Even though they were threatened with being thrown into the fiery furnace if they refused, they stood boldly for their faith. Just as they had been threatened, they were thrown in the furnace not knowing what would happen. But they were miraculously protected from the flames.
It’s easy to think that the victory came when they walked out of the furnace. But in God’s eyes, they were victorious when they walked in—because they stayed true to their faith and didn’t waver in their devotion, regardless of the consequences.
What inspires us here at First Liberty to keep fighting for our clients? They do! Because their courage is contagious.
