Time for another blog post my friends. Even though it has
been a while since I put my thoughts on “paper,” I thought I would chime in on
what has been going on lately between Chick-fil-A, the LBGT community and
ultimately, the Christian community.
First of all, I find it very funny that people would be
surprised by the comments of Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy. This is a man whose
company has always been outspoken about their principles and even closes their
stores on Sunday’s. As one commentator said on CBS, Chick-fil-A isn’t afraid to
put their “principles over profits.” For that reason, I commend Mr. Cathy for
being willing to stand up for what he believes and not catering to the
potential profit loss that may come with his beliefs. On the flip side, I don’t
completely agree with the way he came across in the statement.
There are really several aspects that fire me up about this
most recent battle between some, and I stress some, conservative Christians and
liberals.
We live in a country that is suppose
to be about free speech (this is NOT a freedom of religion issue). He is a
private business owner, who should be able to say what he wants to say. If you
don’t agree with what he believes, simply don’t go to his establishment. For
years, people of a minority have always fought to be heard, but when someone is
against them, they do everything to tear the other group down.
Politicians in Chicago, Boston and
anywhere else that has publically addressed this issue, apparently don’t
understand that by trying to keep Chick-fil-A out of their city, they are being
just what they are “standing up against,” and that is discrimination.
I also have a problem with the way
conservatives, especially Christians, are handling this issue. Many times when
a group of people “crazed” about something they believe in, they cross the line
between standing up for their beliefs and becoming judgmental (yes, there is
actually a difference). As a Christian, I think that there is actually more
harm being done towards the faith than good.
Finally, I want to touch on bigotry. This term has been
tossed around a lot on Facebook, Twitter and sadly, the media, when people
address this issue. But when people are taking such a strong stance against the
beliefs of a Christian person, berating them, telling them they are wrong, they
themselves become bigots. I understand that someone who is against
homosexuality per his or her religious beliefs, by definition, is a bigot.
However, the same can be said for those who don’t have tolerance to the
religious beliefs as well.
The Chick-fil-A issue is just two groups that have decided
to go on a crusade against each other, doing the exact opposite of what should
really be going on, and that is engage is loving conversation. Christians are
called to love their neighbor, even when it is someone who doesn’t believe or
live the same way they do. This can be done while also standing for what you
believe it. On the other side, liberals seem to be all about getting along, so
they need to learn that just because someone doesn’t agree with them, they
don’t have to make a huge issue out of it (same goes for Christians).
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