Chick-fil-a: A Primer on What's to Come

Over the past few weeks I’ve been distantly observing what has been unfolding in regards to the “Chick-fil-a” controversy. I generally hate getting involved in these sorts of controversies, but this time I felt compelled to share a few of my thoughts regarding what is happening. If I could choose one word to sum up how I feel about the whole fiasco, I would choose “grief”. My heart and spirit are grieved for both our society and fellow Christians who have not responded in what I consider a biblical manner. So, what follows is written and directed toward those who claim the name of Christ. If you do not consider yourself a Christian, by all means feel free to read on, but please understand that I am writing from a Christian perspective and a biblical worldview defined by God in Christ through the Holy Spirit as defined in the Bible. I am aware that these views are not popular in our current culture, but please be sensitive and know that I love you and care about each of you. I hope that those whom I have had the privilege to know over the years, on both sides of this issue, can confirm that I have been respectful and genuine in my friendships and interactions over the years. To begin, I am going to address my fellow believers in Christ first. After I saw the initial reports about the comments that Dan Cathy made, it did not surprise me in the least at the hostile response that occurred in its wake. What did surprise is the seemingly equal hostile response directed toward those who took their stance in boycotting Chick-fil-a. In my opinion, it just revealed the biblical illiteracy in understanding the nature of the world in which we live and our responsibility to be lights in the midst of the darkness. This world is a very broken and fallen place filled with broken and fallen people. It’s messy and these sorts of controversies are just a mere symptom of a much deeper problem, namely people are lost and do not neither cannot understand the truth. They are blind and it is our job as Christ followers to shine the light of the Gospel. Do we stand for Truth? Absolutely. Do we engage the lost? Absolutely. Do we support biblical values regarding the family and marriage? Absolutely. But we must first realize that the world does not see things as we do and when these controversies occur, we should respond with a heart that is grieved by what sin has done to humanity and long for reconciliation through the Gospel—the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We should NOT respond with anger and a spirit of vindictiveness. Newsflash! We do not live in a Christian nation and we can never legislate morality. I believe in affirming our rights to free speech and free enterprise, but people can also choose not to support or shop at a business for any reason they choose. At the heart of the current controversy lies in what D.A. Carson would term the “intolerance of tolerance.” There was a time in which tolerance was defined and understood as “accepting the existence of different views” and recognizing that other people have a right to have different beliefs or practices. This is what is termed the “old tolerance”. In other words, the old adage “agree to disagree” sums up the traditional, historical understanding of tolerance. However, in light of the post-modern world in which we live, tolerance has been re-defined to mean “the acceptance of different views” or that accepting another position also entails believing that position to be true and endorsing it. Carson summarizes that “We move from allowing the expression of contrary opinions to the acceptance of all opinions; we leap from permitting the articulation of beliefs and claims with which we do not agree to asserting that all beliefs and claims are equally valid.” The change may be subtle, but there is a vast difference of how one will be viewed when you do not endorse or agree with an opposing belief. To complicate matters, this new view of tolerance is held to be the greatest virtue in our society, so not to hold this view is to be labeled a bigot, a hate monger, and someone who is small-minded and uninformed. As Christians, we must accept that living in a world where this understanding is a non-negotiable that we will be labeled as such and we must be prepared to respond with love and not vindictiveness, grief and not anger, and continue to speak the truth in love. If we are not careful, we can fall into the trap of viewing Christianity through “new tolerance” and be angered that they don’t accept our beliefs as being equal to their own. We must come to an understanding that there is a cost to pay in following Christ. We will be accused of being intolerant, but this is okay because Christ said this would happen (Jn 15:18-25). So, now that we have established the philosophical pre-suppositions on tolerance, I want to offer a few suggestions on how we as Christ-followers should respond. I believe there are namely two errors we need to avoid. The first is total retreat. This is the one that I am drawn towards because let’s be honest, who really enjoys controversy. It is tempting to be silent and just withdraw from these types of issues. This isn’t about Chick-fil-a per se, but a symptom of a much larger issue. As believers, we must stand firmly on the truth of God’s Word and preach the whole counsel of God, whether it is culturally acceptable or not. We cannot apologize for God’s Word. What God has revealed in Scripture is for the good. He is God, not us and whatever He has revealed in His Word is Truth, whether we fully understand it or not. The Gospel is Good News, not Good Advice and as such we must faithfully proclaim the message of the Gospel and what God has done for us in the person and work of Christ. It is the Gospel and the Gospel alone that will transform hearts. It is the “power” of God. We will never be able to change the minds of people on these issues by retaliating and responding with anger and vindictiveness. Preach the Gospel, both incarnationally and proclamationally. The second error we must avoid is vindictiveness. I have to wonder what the whole Chick-fil-a day really accomplished. Sure, it was a way of affirming and supporting a man’s business who stated his beliefs of the biblical understanding of marriage, but what was ultimately accomplished. It is easy in these types of situations to get wrapped up into a belief that we can transform our society merely through political means. If we can pass some laws, then we can withdraw and sleep easy at night knowing we did our part. However, all that politics does or can do is merely slow the decaying process. Having this understanding fails to understand the true problem and only treats the symptoms without ever getting to the root cause. As Christians, we believe that every human being has intrinsic value and is created in the image of God. This is true regardless of race, gender, nationality, social class, sexual orientation, etc. Even after the Fall, men and women maintain the image of their Creator. Sin is a human problem and we are all equally in need of the Gospel of Christ which is offered freely to all. As Christians it is easy to make an issue such as homosexuality different than other types of sin. For instance, Jesus says that if you look at a woman with lust, then you have committed adultery with her in your heart. There is not a man in this world that is not a spiritual adulterer in need of the atoning work of Christ, myself included. I am an adulterer. Going forward, we must focus on Sin, not sins—the disease, not the symptoms. Jesus died for everyone in order that we may be set free from the curse of sin and death. So, when we are faced with these situations, is your heart angered or grieved. If you are angry, be angry at what Sin has done to the human race. Pray for those who insult you. Have you honestly prayed for the hearts and souls of the lost? Pray that their eyes will be opened and they will be given ears to hear. Will it be mutually received? Not always, but perhaps God in His mercy and grace will reveal Himself. This is about the Gospel, not about what political party you associate yourself with. Stand firm. Pray often. Be patient. And above all, love everyone whether they hold your point of view or not. This is only the beginning of what’s to come and we must not retreat or become vindictive when faced with the cost of following Christ!