Food and Faith

I do not like controversy.  Period.  I tend to shy away from it as much as possible.  Just the thought of being caught in the middle of a controversial situation makes my stomach hurt.  I am naturally a people pleaser who just wants everyone to get along.  Got the picture?

So, this whole Chick-Fil-A craziness has been interesting to me.  I am a Christian- if any of you have read even one of my posts you already know that.  As a Christian, I try to live a life that pleases my Father and honors Him.  I am not perfect-never have been!  I am a sinner who by God's incredible measure of grace is saved and longs to serve Him.  I believe that I am to love people and do my best to show them the love of Christ in my actions, words and deeds.  If my words and actions do not match, I become a hypocrite.  That is why it is so important for us to lean on the Father for His strength and help to live as noble and honorable lives as possible.  I want it to be said that I truly reflected the character of Christ in my actions and words.

As per my faith, I do not agree with the homosexual lifestyle.  HOWEVER, I do not tolerate hatred towards that group nor any other group that has different views than mine.  I personally believe that God would want me to love any individual where they are in their life and through a relationship of kindness be a witness to them through my lifestyle.  If I am living a loving Christian relationship before them; then, God may use that to influence them.  However, I can have no influence if all I show them is hatred.

But, I am a Christian- a Christian who also feels called to vote my conscious and support those that have similar values as I do.  It is frightening to me the lack of tolerance that our society has for Christians now.  To be fair, I have eaten at Chick-Fil-A many times and I have never seen someone asked about their sexual orientation.  I have never witnessed anyone receive anything but respect and good service. When the president of CFA was asked "the question" in the interview, what did they expect him to say?  I believe in many ways it almost felt like a set-up as they knew his personal values and wanted to put him in a difficult situation.  If he gave support to marriages of all kinds, he wouldn't have been true to his faith and values as well as facing a backlash from the media for changing his stance.  So, he answered as honestly as he could about his personal belief.  Again, when have his personal beliefs affected the service of any customer entering into their restaurants?  None, that I have witnessed. 

So, today our family braved the lines to eat at Chick-Fil-A- not to create an uprising, but as a way of showing my support to a business that offers good service and food for my family.  I was also trying to show my support to a fellow Christian who was just trying to be honest about his faith.  I wanted to be see and witness the support that was given to this faith- led business.  To be honest, the media tries to make Christians feel like a minority in this country- such a small nominal group that we should be ignored.  It encouraged me to see such a large turn out stating, by their presence, that they support these values too.  Sadly, I wonder how many of the patrons I saw today are actively living their faith.   If that same number of people became that passionate about sharing their faith and love for Christ, we would have a dramatically different world. 

We may never know the tally of how many people supported CFA today in our nation and in a few weeks, this day will be forgotten in the media memory.  However, my boys went with me today when we purchased our food and they witnessed the crowds which made quite an impression on them.  Yesterday, they were with us when we voted for candidates in the election that supported our values.  They also witness us trying- as best as possible- to live out our beliefs each day.  It is my hope that as they mature and grow, they will do the same.  And that, my friend, is even better than the chicken sandwich I had for dinner!