Culture Wars



So last Wednesday was "Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day" which was construed by many to be:
"Conservative-Chicken-Eating-Christian Night Out."But was it?  Was that what it was about-hating gays, hating liberals, hate speech, condoning discrimination?  Was it about supporting freedom of speech, supporting conservative values, supporting a business that is honest enough to tell you what it values?

Tearing down or building up?  Which is it?

DOES IT MATTER?


The world doesn't care.
                    
                       The world doesn't see us care.


                                               The world sees us hating them.


Is that your goal as a follower of Jesus?  The reason that I support Chick-Fil-A is because I do not appreciate the intolerant accusing others of intolerance.  I get kind of caught up in the injustice of it, the hypocrisy of it.  And, if you aren't following me, I mean the liberal intolerant accusing the conservative Christians of intolerance.

But can we really co-exist, as the bumper sticker says? 




How do we love those we disagree with on such basic values?

I have a confession to make.  I love sinners.  I love lesbians, gay men, dikes and queens.  I love liars, thieves, gossipers, rageaholics, greedy people, addicts and prideful people.  But I find it harder to love pedophiles, snobs, and people who cheat those with less.  And I know that even I am a sinner, falling into many of those categories.

So, what do we do with this stalemate of culture? You think that I am intolerant because I cannot agree with you.  I think you have bought into an agenda that has been tearing the culture apart with lies, not spreading the utopia you hope.

At least I love you.  Even when I don't agree with you or when I don't understand you.  The weird thing is that this is sort of the same approach that I take with God when there is something difficult going on that I don't understand.  I just rest in loving him.

So, you can accuse me of hate speech, of being a bigot, of believing a fairy tale, of being intolerant and of violating civil rights. It is ok.  I will still choose to love you.  Because the weird thing is that this is sort of the same approach God took with me when I was a jerk and hated him.  He loved me anyway, and he chose to pay the price for the damage I had done.  Now, he calls me daughter.

I love you, friend.



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