Does God want you to discriminate against gay couples?

If you're a Christian looking for an excuses to discriminate against same-sex couples, who now have a Constitutional right to marry, the Bible apparently will provide them for you.

And some politicians will back you up.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has said state workers can refuse to issue same-sex marriage licenses if doing so is contrary to his or her religious beliefs. He says there are lawyers lined up to defend such workers from lawsuits.

He added, "(Judges and other state workers) may claim that the government cannot force them to conduct same-sex wedding ceremonies over their religious objections."

A reader wrote a letter to The Arizona Republic saying, essentially, that Christians are required to discriminate against such couples (and others, I'd suppose).

In response to a reader's comment asking to know a scripture that encourages discrimination, reader Alan Todd quoted II Corinthians 6:14 -17. "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? ...Therefore, come out from among them and be separate says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. ... I will be a Father to you, And you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."

He added, "It sounds pretty clear to me that Christians should discriminate if they want God's blessing. I know that we'll be hated for it, but it's certainly worth it in the long run."

So the message, the excuse, if you happen to be looking for one, is that God wants you to discriminate.

I've heard from several readers about this already. The Bible is their shield, I've been told. (Or is it the sword?)

Pick the most convenient Bible quote and you can say that any discrimination you express, any bias, prejudice, along with the cruelty and illegality surrounding it isn't your fault. You're only doing what God wants you to do.

Unless, maybe as you're thumbing through the Bible in search of ways to justify your intolerance you stumble on Matthew 7:1-29 which begins, "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you."

Or maybe Romans 14:1-4 that says you must "now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions..."

The dueling verses go on and on.

But the law is now the law. And if you work for the government, you are obligated to follow it. And maybe, along the way, keep in mind what St. Paul said, "Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls."