Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Confessions of a spiritual chikin

My spirit is tired of all the bickering about politics and economics and morality and what's right and wrong. I have my opinions and beliefs on the issues of the day, but I've become hesitant to express them, especially at work or on Facebook.

If there is a safe place, I'm thinking my limited  readership blog should be it. As far as I know, everyone who reads it knows me pretty well and appreciates my musings and loves me for who I am and refrains from judging or condemning me, at least to my face.

So, I will carefully and prayerfully weigh in on the Chick-fil-A situation and why I will or won't "eat mor chikin" there Wednesday and questions it has caused me to ask myself.

You probably know the story. Chick-fil-A president and CEO Dan Cathy was quoted in an interview with a religious newspaper explaining that the company, whose stores are closed on Sundays, is run on biblical prinicples and supports family values. Apparently, when asked to clarify family values, he expressed that he started with the biblical design founded upon the marriage of a man and a woman.

For some reason, at least the way I see it, people who don't agree with and/or support and/or adhere to that viewpoint of what the Bible says took offense, and many have accused the owner of hatred and hate speech. Meanwhile, supporters of  Cathy and his stand have been just as vocal in criticizing those who would criticize  Cathy.

This troubles me, and part of why I am troubled is that the divisiveness of the uproar has torn me between joining in and staying silent.

There are two reasons I've avoided hitting "like" on Facebook posts I agree with concerning this.

First is that it seems to have just become a lot of noise, a follow-the-crowd mentality: "Maybe I can't do anything else, but I can 'like.' " Even though I do follow my share of crowds, I've noticed that I'm pretty intentional about my Facebook likes and dislikes and comments. (That's a whole other blog posting I hope to get to soon.)

The second reason is more complicated. I can't say for sure whether it's that I don't want to offend anyone or whether I don't want to defend my views or perhaps I'm just lazy.

My first thought when this came up was that I would buy food for work. But then I realized that could be construed as hate speech by some at work? So I won't.

Then I thought I'd just go eat there, alone or with my husband, to show support. But my reason I won't do that on Wednesday -- dubbed Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day by former Arkansas Gov. and former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee -- is much simpler: lack  patience, in expectation of long lines. Instead, the commitment I've made to myself is to stop in at times in the days and weeks ahead when the lines return to normal lengths.

Above all, in this and all things, I continue to pray to know and do God's will, and to trust Him to show me. And not only that, but I will renew daily prayers for God's will to be done not just in Heaven but on Earth.

Regarding some of the issues of the day, I really don't know for sure what His will is for me or the world. I'm pretty sure His will in both areas involves love and grace and forgiveness and justice and compassion. But I'm pretty sure it also involves truth: His truth. Exactly what His truth is isn't always crystal clear to me from the Bible. This is why I feel He calls us not only to pray, but also to interact and study and serve and worship with others also seeking to walk confidently in His way. And if that involves sharing a meal at (or at  least from) Chick-fil-A in the near future, that's all the better!

2 comments:

  1. Good post; I resonate with much of what you said. It is unfortunate that we are in such a time when everyone is so ready to take offense. My mother would have called that 'walking around with a chip on your shoulder.' Everyone should slow down, take deep breath and remember we live in a land where it that businesses right to define who they are and our right to go there or...not. I, personally, think Starbucks coffee is awful (and the policies of the company poor) but I am not going to be upset if someone brings in a cup. When we start defining 'hate speech' as someone saying something we don't like or which offends us...we shame the founding fathers and those who have died to keep that essence of liberty in speech and choice available. As John Wesley said, 'think and let think.'

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  2. Thanks, Marilyn. This is still so strongly on my heart today. As I responded on one of Terry Tramel's posts today: I probably won't be going to Chick-fil-A today, but I am praying that God be glorified in how people called by Him choose to respond.

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