There is no such thing as a fake reflection. The reflections we see in the mirror are what we truly look like, whether we like it or not. There are definitely good and bad reflections. A good reflection would be when we are awake, showered, made-up, dressed, and ready for the day. A bad reflection would be one that we see when we are sick or have just woken up. As Christians, we are supposed to be reflecting Jesus on a daily basis. We have good days and we have bad days. We have days where we do a great job in reflecting Jesus and we have days where we fail miserably. Thankfully there is grace to forgive us and help us face a new day.
Yesterday was Chick Fil A appreciation day as declared by Mike Huckabee on facebook. Thousands of people around the country came out to support the fast food restaurant amid a media storm over CEO Dan Cathy's comments about his support of traditional marriage. It seemed like a great day for evangelical Christians to support what they believe in. But, the mirror reflects a harsh reality.
The Huffington Post published an article that showed another side to this controversial event (you can read the article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/01/chick-fil-a-anti-gay-controversy-employees-speak-out_n_1729968.html?utm_source=DailyBrief&utm_campaign=080212&utm_medium=email&utm_content=FeaturePhoto&utm_term=Daily+Brief&utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#sb=2540044,b=facebook). The Huffington Post interviewed some workers of Chick Fil A who happen to be homosexual. Obviously they did not agree with the CEO's comments, but that was not the bigger issue. The bigger issue was what these employees had to listen to from the mouths of the supposed, passionate followers of Christ. For example, one employee had to hear this: "I support your company because your company hates the gays." It was not specified who said this quote to this particular employer, but I don't think that matters. This was supposed to be a rallying cry for the evangelical right, so it is probably safe to assume that the person who said this goes to a church with his or her family and probably claims to be an evangelical Christian.
Have we forgotten who Jesus was and what he did? Have we gone so far away from the Biblical Jesus? Whenever controversies like this one arise, we Christians pull out our swords like Peter in the garden and start cutting off every ear we can reach, defending our King (at least that's what we think we are doing). We fight for our rights and we fight to be right. We go to church on Sunday and read our Bibles, looking down on the Pharisees who just didn't get it. My question is, "Are we looking in the mirror?"
We look down on the Pharisees and religious leaders because we think that we are more righteous than they are and we know better. However, we are acting just like them! We are creating enemies out of our neighbors and Jesus commanded us to love our neighbors. If Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan today, I would not be surprised if he used a homosexual in the place of the Samaritan. If he did this, would we be shocked? Would we label Jesus as a heretic? if so, then we are showing our true reflection.
i am not saying that I have changed my stance on homosexuality and am embracing the lifestyle. I still hold to the Biblical view of marriage and I always will. I still know that the Bible speaks against the homosexual lifestyle as a sin just like it does lying, cheating, stealing, drunkenness, idolatry, lust, adultery, etc. What I am saying is that we need to understand who our enemies are, Satan and sin. Those are our enemies not other human beings. Jesus commanded us to love our neighbor, period!
I was planning on eating at Chick Fil A yesterday and I am thankful that I did not. I want to lead people to Jesus not repel them. I want to love people because they are people not because they are like me. As Christians in this country we need to take a long hard look in the mirror because I think we will be surprised at what we see. We may think we are reflecting Jesus, but in reality we might be reflecting the Pharisees that we like to look down upon.
Jesus was passionate about people. The Pharisees were passionate about their religion. Jesus drew people near; the Pharisees burdened people. Homosexuals are not the enemy. They do not need our self-righteousness; they need Jesus. They need the new life that is found only in Jesus. They need to be loved and treated like human beings.
Thank you!! This is exactly how I feel. We're only extreme and passionate when it's a hot-button issue, and it almost always involves an issue that makes us look like we are a bunch of ignorant intolerant jerks. I am all for extreme passion, but let it be over something that's really going to make a difference in the world and won't be hurting people along the way. (I wrote a blog on my views of extremism yesterday in the wake of this as wel).
ReplyDelete"Whenever controversies like this one arise, we Christians pull out our swords like Peter in the garden and start cutting off every ear we can reach, defending our King (at least that's what we think we are doing). We fight for our rights and we fight to be right."
ReplyDeleteThis is quite the perfect metaphor for our reactions so often. Well written.
Ryan you're an anti-gay hate monger who is trying to get sodomy laws reinstated! Isn't that what you just said? It wasn't? Really? Here's your exact quote: "I still hold to the Biblical view of marriage and I always will. I still know that the Bible speaks against the homosexual lifestyle as a sin...."
ReplyDeleteAccording to the liberal media and according to some politicians like City of Philadelphia councilman, James F. Kenney, that is anti-gay hate speech. And according to some mayors, you're not even welcome to have a business in their city because they have different values than you do.
I ate at Chic-fil-A yesterday and I'm glad I did. First, let me tell you why I did it. Of course I support traditional, Biblical marriage between one man and one woman. But, I would not have gone because of that alone. It wasn't until I heard what the mayors of Chicago, Boston and San Francisco said. I was there to support a man who was unjustly (we all love social justice don't we?) and falsely accused of saying things he did not say. However, I was there even more to protest the over-reach of government.
I'm sure there were some bad apples who showed up yesterday at Chic-fil-A. However, I would not assume they all attend church! I would not assume they were Christians! I would not assume they were even on the political Right. I heard a woman on the radio today identify herself as a liberal and she said that she was at Chic-fil-A yesterday because she disagrees with the statements of those big city mayors. You seem to make the assumption that it was a "rallying cry for the Evangelical Right". I think calling it a rallying cry for the Political Right may have a small amount of merit.... but certainly you know that the Right are not all Evangelicals (The Bellamy Brothers and Kid Rock). I find it comical how the media can find (or maybe even produce) some bad examples and write articles about them. But, they write nothing about the huge number of people that said nothing but what they were ordering along with "Please" and "Thank You".....and "Have great day." It makes me wonder if the Huntington Post was reporting things that weren't really said, like was done with Dan Cathy's statements.
I'm sure there were plenty of true Believers who did stop by yesterday...Rev. Billy Graham was there (but he's so old....who really cares what he thinks).
My experience was 100% positive. The people I was around were courteous and pleasant and, who knows, maybe even Christians. My daughter, was at a different Chic-fil-A, and her experience was the same. She actually asked a police officer, who was stationed at the door, how the day had been. He said, "Very quiet."
Since Christians are to love their neighbor as themselves, I would like to get a list of everything your church is doing to actively attract the gay community to its fellowship. My guess is nothing....just like ours. Tomorrow (Friday) is your chance. Gay activists have called for a Kiss-In at our nations Chic-fil-A's. It would be a great time to go and meet them and invite them to church. Just don't let them see your blog.
As Christians we too often get caught on up with special moral issues of the day instead of attacking the underlying issue which is that this country is not saved. Sometimes I can't help but wonder if we as Christians are doing ourselves a disservice by being known as the "anti-gay" (or whatever moral issue of the day) people instead of the Gospel, grace & forgiveness people.
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