chick-fil-geddon 8-1-12
its the day after chick-fil-a day. literally hundreds of thousands were willing to inconvenience themselves, interrupt their schedules, give money, stand in long lines and then spend a lot of time in person and online to talk to friends, co-workers, & family about why they were doing what they were doing, why they believed what they believed, and why they should too.
i can’t help but wonder about what our church gatherings will look like this coming sunday morning. will we all make that same commitment to our churches so that we can promote the gospel of jesus christ in our own lives, homes, communities and world- for something of infinitely more worth (as important as it is) than the current cultural debate over supporting certain businesses with certain views? (any christians out there drink starbucks, eat ben & jerry’s ice cream, drink pepsi products, or wear nike apparel? you might want to check certain organizations they support- then again,maybe not if you like to eat,wear clothes,or drive cars)
when we gather with our churches, will there be a sense of purpose and excitement? a sense of “what we are doing matters!!”? will there be that same resolve, that it is worth any (so called) sacrifice to be there? will we understand the weight and gravity of gathering as god’s people to worship him in spirit and truth, to celebrate who he is and what he has done, is doing and has promised to do – to glory in our lord and redeemer?
or will we be be too busy, and cling too tightly to our time, money,resources, and/ or convenience. will we not talk to those around us because of what they might think, or support the one institution that our lord himself founded and promised to use for the spread of his kingdom? lets answer this question without flinching – not just by our words and facebook statuses , but by our actions.
i love chick-fil-a – especially a #1 w/ cheese & no pickle,dr.pepper w/ no ice,and polynesian sauce for my fries, please.
and don’t get me started on those banana pudding milkshakes…
[uncle jesse]” have mercy” [/uncle jesse] .
at one point in my life, i would have been called “obsessive” about it. (that is, if driving almost an hr.one way just to get to the closest chick-fil-a is”obsessive” *rolls eyes*.)
i support the owners right to have his opinion and voice it. i agree with his view on biblical marriage. and i want to make to sure that you understand, i don’t think that going to chick-fil-a yesterday was wrong. but it burdens me to see and hear of so many self- identified christians so freely express their outrage over the way chick-fil-a has been portrayed, change their schedules, go to so much trouble, endure long lines, etc. to eat a meal there, but for some of those same people there is so little enthusiasm for christ’s church and his gospel.
the excuses flow like ketchup over waffle fries – the services are too long, our family’s schedules are too full with ball games, practices, lessons, etc. we can’t “add” something else like church to their week. sundays are our only days to rest, so staying home is what we need more than worship, instruction,fellowship and encouragement that a local church provides.
“my personality doesn’t allow me to feel comfortable to talk to others about jesus” or “they might think im pushy,closed minded, a religious nut, etc.” or “i love jesus,but that doesn’t mean i have to talk about him all of the time”. what about “i don’t have to say much, i show that i’m a christian by the way i live”. (when was the last time, by the way, that someone was converted because they saw you not gamble, not drink a beer, or not say a curse word?)
“i’m scared i don’t know enough to answer someone’s questions.” that one can be a valid concern, but why not share what we *do* know,and if we are truly saved, we know enough to share how others can be too. i doubt we all knew all of the ins and outs of cfa’s positions and decisions re: same sex marriage, but we spoke up for them, supported them, and went there anyway. some of us even did reserach to find out more so we could better defend the position. sounds an awful like “bible study”to me!
is it because the current chick-fil-a flap is more socially acceptable (even “cool” in christian circles) than pursuing holiness and living in light of the gospel each day, seeking to make christ known? is it because chick-fil-a doesn’t require much from us once the money/food exchange has taken place, but the church is always asking us to commit long term? why do we seem to get more committed to a restaurant and its reputation that the glory and reputation of christ?
i really like chick-fil-a and i hope you do too (banana pudding milkshakes!!!) but when the world sees us get up and get going to show our enthusiasm and support for a restaurant/cause, but never sees us get that excited and vocal about the gospel, then they begin to wonder what matters more to us – a restaurant and its “political” stance, or the one we call lord.
that should shame us.
and then it should drive us back to the gospel, that reminds that as prone to wander as our hearts are, if we seek him, we will find him, if we seek him with all of our heart. if we draw near to him, he will draw near to us. if we delight ourselves in him, he will give us the desire of our heart (which at that point will be more of him)
let us be those who have tasted and seen that he is good. and may the world know we are not talking about a chicken sandwich.
- maybe this church does go to such great lengths to promote the gospel as much as they do chick-fil-a… i hope so..
August 2, 2012 at 1:29 pm
Good stuff, Steven! Amen and Amen! I know we have to do what we can to have the right to speak our beliefs, but never in the place or at the expense of the gospel. So, I believe we have to do the first, but quickly and more fiercely do the second. Only the gospel itself can engage and change the hearts of those with whom we disagree.
August 3, 2012 at 1:30 pm
thanks michael! i hope that you are doing well! had lunch with sam and heather last week and your name came up (all good things!)
August 3, 2012 at 12:47 am
Michelle Chaffins First of all, I don’t actually hope people choke. And I may say it, but I don’t actively donate money to charities that go out and choke people. But do you want to know who does give money to charities that support hate? Chick-Fil-A, and that’s why I don’t support them, or support the people who do. I don’t care if you have an opinion (albeit the wrong opinion) you can have your opinion, they can have their opinion. I don’t have to agree with it, and you don’t have to agree with mine.
This country was formed on freedom of religion (which for the dense means that we as a country are supposed to be religion free. And that we aren’t supposed to be oppressed as a free people by any religious material. Such as the bible.) And if anyone has even read the bible it has some pretty messed up definitions of “traditional” marriage. Such as if a girl is raped, she must marry her rapist. But I’m sure you don’t agree with that. And then if a husband dies, his widow must marry his in married brother. Again, I’m sure no one follows that. And then the real doosie is that if a woman isn’t a snow white virgin (because they check) on her wedding day, she is to be stoned to death in public. Now tell me how “traditional” those marriages are? And further more, people who just met can, and do get married in Las Vegas. Celebrities get married for just a few days or weeks. And ALL that is okay JUST because it’s between a man and a woman? I’m sorry but I can’t agree with that. When I see a gay couple who has been together for 20 years and can’t get married because of people like you and those who support C-F-A it makes me ill. Who are you or anyone else to deny someone of the basic right of love and marriage?
And don’t start on me with homosexuality being a sin, because I can school you on that too. If you’re talking about the passage in Leviticus, then perhaps you should read the WHOLE passage, where it states that you shouldn’t wear mixed blends of fabrics (polyester anyone?) you shouldn’t touch ever touch pig skin (football or pork rinds) don’t get tattoos, and there are many more. So if you do any or have done any of those things my sinful friend would you prefer to be the pot or the kettle?
And finally you are free to believe WHATEVER your little heart desires. And so am I. BUT, and this is a HUGE but, I don’t have to agree with it, nor do I have to put up with it. And I will fight to the DEATH to see that everyone who lives in this country has equal rights.
August 3, 2012 at 2:24 pm
michelle,
thanks for stopping by and for leaving a comment!
well, i for one am glad that you dont want anyone to choke… i dont either!
i do know that if i spent all of my time tracking down where every every penny every company that gets my money goes, i wouldn’t have time for anything else. some obviously are easier to find out than others, and as you have stated, you have the right to do as choose in that regard.
i do think that it is a bit of oversimplification to say that certain companys “support hate”. disagreement does not necessarily equal hate. in fact, that is what our culture often gets wrong. “tolerance” does not mean “acceptance”. it means “to disagree with, but not to the point where i seek to prevent you from holding that belief.” to seek to persuade some differently or express disagreement is not intolerant.to say “i disagree with you, so i will try to silence you” is intolerant. i think we can both a gree that not everything on either side called “intolerance” is actually intolerance. but sometimesit is, and that is unfortunate in either case.
well, this is partially correct. religious freedom was one of the great principles that this country had in its founding documents,but “religious freedom” is not “absence of” or “freedom from religion”. freedom *of* (again, not *from*) religion means that the government cannot mandate a state enforced religion. in other words, teh government cannot force american citizenship to have adherence to any particular religion as a requirement.
that is a lot different than saying “no religion allowed”. in fact, the first amendment has in it the following: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. so again, congress can’t force people into a religion, but notice the second half,neither can they prevent people from exercising (practicing) their religion. this goes for christians too… they cant be denied the right to practice their faith,which includes beliefs about marriage.
the same right must be extended to muslims, buddhists, even atheists/ agnostics,etc.. where these parties disagree, they are allowed to disagree,not forced to conform by the law.
when reading the bible, it is helpful to do so on its own terms. for example, i dont read historic fiction the same way i read tolkein. nor do i read harry potter the same way i read an encyclopedia.the bible is a collection of different literary genres that have their own principles for interpretation and context.
in the examples you cite, those rules were for the preservation of the identity of a specific group of people in a certain time and place in history. those rules were to keep these people (israel) distinct from the cultures around them. they are not applicable today and havent been for 2,000 years. that is why jesus said “i have not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it” (matt. 5:17) the cultural rules and regulations (food, drink, cleansing rituals, agriculture, dress, etc.) were all cultural laws that have no basis since the coming of christ, because the bible teaches that in him we have our identity in christ and no longer need to be distinct by keeping all of the old codes and regulations.
however, the moral code remains, and to some degree, jesus upped the ante. its not just adultery that’s a sin now, its even looking lustfully. its not just murder,its hatred in the heart, etc. the moral code has its root in the created order, and that hasnt changed.
i agree with you that is is a shame christians have been so vocal about homosexuality, but have too often been deafeningly quiet when it comes to the casual attitude re:sex and marriage in our culture, in hollywood and with “no fault divorce” being so prominent. that is hypocrisy. the standard set forward in scripture is marriage between one man and one woman for life. anytime that is broken, it is either condemned or shown to be an example of what “not to do”, even in the areas where there is polygamy. it is never lifted up as honorable and always leads to trouble.
homosexuality is condemned as sin throughout scripture, and not just as a civil law for israel in leviticus, but as a moral law of god for all people. it is referred to as sin in the new testament as well. jesus, a teacher who read and taught from the old testament never repealed those things. it was only the civil law for israel that he fulfilled. yes, he did love on and share meals with the outcasts and “sinners” of society, but he also told them to “go and sin no more”. his main message was not “everybody accept everyone the way they are and just love without discrimination”. he did say “love your neighbor as yourself”, but his never ending refrain was “repent and believe the gospel”. that he was the savior, coming for sinners (all of us) and we need him.
he even said that the greatest commandment,above all things, is to love god with all that we are. to love god is to follow and obey him. and god clearly called homosexuality a sin, because it is a distortion of how he created things to be.
as for the “right” to marriage, i would have to know further what you mean. i can only marry someone of the opposite sex, who is not closely related to me, and who is of legal age to be married. those are the same rights every american has.
now you may say, “what about the right to marry whoever you love?” well,cousins,siblings, etc. who love each other cant legally marry, even if they want to. a 21 yr. old man cant legally marry a 13 yr. old girl, even if they both want to. a 18 yr. old woman cannot (legally)have sex with a 16 yr.old boy, even he he “assents”. so all of these “rights” have limitations. and right now the same limitations apply to everyone.
you are absolutely right. you don’t have to agree with me. and i am glad that you are concerned that everyone has equal rights. but i wouldask you to define what a “right” is? is it to do whatever you want, or whatever makes you happy? whatever makes me feel like a person?
no one in this country has those kind of “rights”. so the issue is over whether or not the “right” to marry whoever we want is an actual right protected by the constitution. here is a link to an article by an african american man who demonstrates how the same sex marriage debate is not in the same category as the civil rights issue – gay is not the new black –
finally, i want to close with this. you may have your mind made up about me, and so i probably cant change that. but if you think that i am heartless,hateful, biggoted, etc., you would have to explain how it is that i have so many homosexual friends, have lived with homosexuals, been on overnight trips with homosexuals, shared countless meals with homosexuals, laughed,cried, hugged, and defended the reputation of many dear friends that i love so much, who are homosexual.
is homosexuality a sin? the bible is clear – yes it is. but so the adultery of my best friend who was the best man in my wedding, abandoned his wife and daughter and is living with a married woman with whom he now has a child. i still love him. and i still love my gay friends,even though i don’t love those parts of their lives.i don’t love their sin.and i don’t love my sin, of which i have a lot.
that is why need a savior, because my sin separates me from the one true,holy god, and who, by virtue of his holiness and righteousness must punish evil, and should punish me, because my sin, as all sin is, is evil. but i have confidence that my sin has already been punished because jesus christ came as a substitute – to bear the weight of my sin and shame and the wrath of god against evil,such that by turning from living my life on my own terms (repentance) and trusting in his perfect life,sacrificial and substitutionary death, and literal, physical, grave defying resurrection,as my only grounds for being made right with god (faith), the bible promises that i have been forgiven. and the same can be true for anyone who repents and believes.
forgiven does not mean “perfect”. i still struggle with sin. but my hope is no longer in my performance, but in the one (jesus) who has done what i cannot do,atone for my sin and make me righteous before god.
so disagree with my faith, disagree with me. but i hope that you won’t make the mistake of calling my disagreement with a person’s actions, attitudes, or behavior *hatred*, because to disagree is not the same thing as hate. to label my beliefs, simply because they are different than yours, as “hate” and unacceptable, and to seek to silence them, that is the essence of intolerance. and i know that you don’t want more intolerance.
grace & peace,
stephen
*this was so long i didnt proofread. sorry for any typos,etc.