Category: laments

Mad Blood Stirring

It didn’t surprise me when Chik-fil-a executive Don Cathy remarked that the company he works for supports a biblical view of marriage. It shouldn’t have surprised anyone. It is common knowledge Chik-fil-a is a privately owned, Christian-ran company. They close on Sunday so their employees can attend church–if they choose.

I think that’s great. I worked in the fast food industry for some time, and would have appreciated the day off. That’s neither here nor there, though.

What did surprise me about what has now become known as the “Chik-fil-a controversy” is the shit storm Cathy’s remarks generated, though I suppose that shouldn’t have surprised me, either.

It didn’t seem to matter to anyone that Cathy did not seek a forum to air his views. He simply responded to a question, without any particular animosity or hatred toward homosexuals or anyone else.

Then the LGBT community and those who support them completely lost their minds and started screaming hatred and intolerance from every rooftop they could get a foothold on.

The man just answered a question.

Let me also say I agree with Mr Cathy and also believe in a traditional and biblical view of marriage. Call me whatever you’d like.

That said, after boycotts were threatened and many harsh words were spoken in the name of tolerance, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee waded into the fray by organizing what he called “Chik-fil-a Appreciation Day.” I was all for that. I thought then (and do now) that Cathy has every right in the world to his own opinions, and every right to express them in answer to a question.

Opinions aren’t against the law.

Opinions are in a sense protected by the law, as are those who voice them.

So a great many people turned out for Chik-fil-a Appreciation day, and drive throughs and dining rooms were all choked with customers, presumably most in agreement with Cathy regarding gay marriage. It was a huge success, and probably several large white feathers in Mike Huckabee’s cap.

I probably would have went myself if there was a Chik-fil-a in Yuma. Instead I took the boys to Carl’s Jr.

But anyway.

I was sitting at in the cafe area at church yesterday trying to pretend there were not donuts only a few short steps away when I started thinking about how Christians really did seem to be thought of negatively these days, and more conservatively held religious and political views often at the least mocked and/or ridiculed, and those who voice them branded as intolerant.

Nothing worse than being intolerant these days. To me, being tolerant of something either means to ignore it or support it. There are things that can be ignored, and other things that can’t.

To someone that professes Christ, we cannot ignore the fact that we live in a fallen world that in many cases holds no love for us. We are called to recognize sin when we see it, while we are also aware of the sin that lives in us at the same time. Christ’s propitiation on our behalves is the only thing that can save us both from it and it’s due penalty.

We are meant to call out the goodness in people by sharing with them the good news of Christ. Part of doing that is pointing out that there is a cost to living a Godly life, and part of that is turning away from sin. The bible is clear on what is sin and what is not.

Often (and probably in this case) people focus too deeply on this sin (homosexuality) they do not struggle with, to the extent they feel justified in overlooking a myriad of other sins.

Make no mistake, the bible is clear homosexuality is sin. It doesn’t matter how commonplace it is, or how much society at large has grown to accept it. We can be as progressive as we want in our faith, and we can call things whatever we want.

We can’t change the truth of scripture.

And while I was trying to avoid donuts yesterday, God pointed out a couple of truths to me; convicted me of them in fact.

No matter what Huckabee and the participants called it, the Day of Appreciation was a protest. The motive, in a sense, did not (and does not) matter.

That day was sort of a middle finger to those who try to silence the viewpoint of the average Christian through slander, and ridicule, even intolerance (because tolerance only extends as far as viewpoints that agree with the status quo).

God is very clear this is something we are not to do.

He tells us what we will face if we follow Him. He warns us about it.

“If the world hates you, it hated me first…(John 15:18-21)

See also Matthew 10: 16-20, Matthew 5:10-12

He consoles us with Romans 8:16-18, and 35-39.

Never, anywhere, does God tell us to flip the bird to sinners, and tell them they can’t put us down. He also tells us what we are to do in response to hatred and persecution:

“but I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you in the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” Matt 5:39

Or

“do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” Lev 19:18.

I don’t really think you can get much more specific than that. And it’s important to note Chik-fil-a did not instigate any protest, and even went so far as to hand out free water to protestors.

But people still protested, on both sides of this particularly ugly coin. No one wants to feel marginalized, or to have their thoughts, beliefs and worldview mocked and ridiculed.

But Jesus told us it was coming. I think it has come.

I think worse is coming.

I know we have clear instructions as to what we should do.

We should pray for those who persecute us.

And as odious as it might be, as unjust as it might be, we must turn the other cheek, and not seek revenge or retribution.

The world is not friendly to righteousness. It never has been. Sometimes I feel the world has gone completely mad, and as Shakespeare pointed out, “The day is hot, the Capulets are abroad, and if we meet we shall not escape a brawl. For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring.” (Romeo & Juliet Act III, scene I)

Indeed it is. And we must prepare for it to get worse.

No Easy Answers

I know this guy at work who says he always carries a gun when he’s out and about and isn’t at work (in case anyone who doesn’t know me reads this, I live in Arizona and you don’t need a permit to carry). I never really thought much about it prior to Friday morning, when I heard about what happened in Aurora. I was just a little surprised to hear carrying was legal here–I come from California.

I am fairly certain that in the days and weeks to come the media will feature passionate testimonies from proponents of the right to carry and those who hate firearms above nearly all other things. People will talk about how much our country has become the wild west, and in a sense, it has.

It’s different, though.

Many people now have so little regard for human life taking one probably seems almost mundane. I don’t know if it’s a cultural thing, or something brought on by overexposure to and desensitization from violence through films, music, or video games.

I don’t why this person did what he did. We probably never will, at least not in a way that makes sense.

I do know that God didn’t pull the trigger. James Holmes did. He used legally obtained firearms that were clearly easy for him to get. No one knows what would have happened if he had not had such quick and easy access to guns. Perhaps he would have made a bomb of some sort (Timothy McVeigh didn’t use a gun, and ended up murdering over a hundred people in Oklahoma City a while back).

Inevitably, someone will recommend all guns be outlawed, or something to that effect. This will be countered by defenders of the second amendment.

And all I can think about is my friend who goes everywhere armed. Sure, not everyone is as responsible with their guns as my friend, but I can’t help but think if there’d been a couple people like him in theater 9 the outcome may have been different.

Yes, as a matter of fact I do own a couple of firearms. I have no plans to shoot anything but paper targets with them unless someone tries to harm me or my family.

Yet I wonder what I would do to protect them, and would it be the same if it were strangers in a movie theater?

Would I kill?

When I think about it like that, the answer is yes I would. If someone is willing to swap their lives for a killing, it’s probably the only way you’re going to stop them from doing it.

I think about all the dead and wounded in Aurora at the hands of this dark creature, and I think if I had the chance to do something and did not do it, I wouldn’t ever be able to forgive myself.

I think in that situation, I’d have to put the guy down as quickly as possible.

I don’t think extreme gun control is the answer.

One need only look at what’s been happening in Chicago with the ridiculous murder rate, where there are many hoops to jump through if a person desires to own a gun.

Then look at Arizona. The difference is easy to see. I am not trying to say that carrying a firearm is the answer to crime. I’m only saying that something that could potentially save a life is better than removing even that chance because of some misguided political agenda.

We are in for some tough discussions in the days ahead.

Sad and Confused

All I know about Syria right now is what I read in the papers and see on the news, but it seems clear there’s atrocity going on. I don’t know who’s to blame. The government says the rebels are, and the rebels say the same of the government.

Regardless, people are being slaughtered every day.

Now, I wonder what the world is going to do. I wonder what the US is going to do?

There’s been countless images of piles of bodies for months now, and at least from a layman’s point of view, it seems everyone including the US is just watching. Perhaps sending advisors.

I wonder how long it will take for the world to get tired of piles of bodies? It makes me think about wars, and rumors of wars.

Maybe the end is drawing near. I don’t know.

I do know that every time I see a dead child with a bullet hole in his/her face it makes me want to do something.

Right now all I can do is pray.

Pray for a resolution to the violence.

Pray for wisdom for my country’s leadership, and the leadership of other countries contemplating assistance to Syria in some capacity.

Pray for peace in a place that seldom sees it.

Pray for understanding on my own part. I just don’t understand this little regard for human life.

All I know is something has to happen, and quickly. This is not a war-this is wanton murder.

Sometimes…

I look at what the world has become and it is easy to imagine Jesus weeping over a city.

It seems that we–both as individuals and as a culture–have not just forgotten God, but have forgotten how to treat others as people.

Death is everywhere. There are wars and rumors of wars. We make movies and write books about kids fighting to the death for entertainment. We play games where you can wander the streets and kill prostitutes.

Society has also taken an act designed by God to show love between husband and wife and made all manner of perversion commonplace. There’s a series of widely read books right now that has millions of stay-at-home mothers thinking Sadism & Masochism is normal (and we’re not just talking about a little slap and tickle).

It’s not the way God wired us, people.

Yet we have so damaged each other through our actions, words, and even entertainment that bondage and murder are fun ways to spend a few hours. Playing at them, anyway.

It’s like we’re on a treadmill powered by the world and getting pulled farther and farther away from God and his plan for our lives.

The question I’ve been thinking about is how do we get off the treadmill without making things worse?

What comes to my mind is Jesus sitting on a hill and weeping for the people that will soon call for his execution.

He didn’t weep for himself. He wept for his people.

He still does.