The Fence

I've had sort of an emotional couple of weeks and haven't blogged about them. It's difficult to know where to start. So, I think I'll avoid the most personal topics and go to one that addresses something very public but also reveals my heart.

In the last couple of weeks, there was a furor on Facebook over Chick Fil A. I have friends on both sides of the fence so I saw a lot of divided posts. It's actually kind of funny, looking back. However, last week, I just got plain tired of it all. Frankly, I read too much.

Just to link to a few of the pertinent articles from some of the "chick fil a sucks" side:

http://matthewpaulturner.net/blog/5-reasons-why-the-church-failed-yesterday/?wpmp_tp=0
http://oddmanout.net/post/28484026012/chick-fil-activism
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/01/chick-fil-a-anti-gay-controversy-employees-speak-out_n_1729968.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#sb=3151290,b=facebook
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/conor-gaughan/chick-fil-a-homophobia_b_1711566.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false

Then, the articles from the "chick fil a rocks" side:
http://www.grbc.net/blog/2012/08/01/why-i-plan-to-eat-at-chick-fil-a-today/
http://www.dennyburk.com/two-lies-about-chick-fil-a-perpetuated-in-the-media/
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/07/in-defense-of-eating-at-chick-fil-a/260139/#.UBAtOA2J9ZE.facebook
Then you have those that counseled both sides:
http://rachelheldevans.com/chick-fil-a#.UBn0r_PJLRk.facebook

In reviewing the posts/articles, you might notice a common theme. The first side categorizes ChickFilA's stance as anti-human-rights, anti-church, anti-gay. The second side categorizes it as pro-family, pro-free-speech, pro-tolerance. Yes, I said pro-tolerance. So what's the common theme? For the most part, each side didn't necessarily argue against each other. They argued points to support what they wanted to believe and didn't acknowledge the fallacies in the positions they supported. The whole thing frustrated me, but it also made me wonder which side I was actually on.

First, as a Christian who holds scripture as God-breathed and inerrant (all of it, not parts of it), I uphold that marriage is between a man and a woman. It's clear in Genesis and in 1 Corinthians, amongst other scripture. It's not my words, but God's words. I have wrestled and wrestled about my attitudes towards gays. I have a dear wonderful close friend who is gay. I have other acquaintances that are gay. Some are Christians. Some might question how gay people can be Christian, but then I remember that my own sin colors everything I do and I am in Jesus' family; how is my sin less than theirs? The answers on how Christians should treat gay people are not pat by any means. Regardless, getting back to marriage, I think Dan Cathy's comments were meant to support scripture. I think his wording was carefully chosen. He said, " 'We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit,' he said. 'We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.' " Quite frankly, I could be offended; I'm not married to my first spouse. I also think without the Holy Spirit, his wording would be seen as hate-filled. I completely agreed with the Atlantic when the editor asks, "Do we really want our commercial lives and our political lives to be so wholly intermeshed? And is this really the kind of culture we want to create?"

But then I saw the glut of posts from my friends in the Christian south. And I have to admit, I started to get a little frustrated. Partly because I was wondering if they were supporting a business, or really trying to support scripture? And my problem with the latter was, do these people actually go to church more than they go to Chick Fil A and tithe to it, support it, love it? Christ loved the church! Let's brag about our churches first, and a fast food restaurant maybe 10th. I also read a bit more and realized that Chick Fil A contributes to organizations that link gays to pedophiles. That just bothers me.

Quite frankly, I like Chick Fil A's food. I like their clean restaurants. I like their service. If they give money to those types of groups, shame on them. But I'd bet Disney, which I also love, gives money to groups that I don't support either.

Yeah, I'm not sure which side of the fence I'm on, exactly. I don't necessarily support any of these "political" groups. I want to get to the idols in my own heart and stop trying to be right all the time...I want to love the Lord Jesus with all my heart and go from there.

And, in other news, the Olympics, which is supposed to model peace and unity across the nations, goes on in London.