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We are now a day removed from Chick-fil-A day. All day yesterday we saw pictures and updates of the long lines of support for Chick-fil-A’s stance for traditional marriage. I had mixed emotions while getting those updates because while I undeniably agree that marriage should be between one man and one woman, I couldn’t help but be turned off by the excitement of the day. As Christians, we have never had a problem rallying together when we feel our traditional values are under attack. Whether it’s showing up to vote, boycotting a movie or buying chicken, we have shown time and again that the Christian population is still very strong in number and passion.
I believe the core of the church’s actions yesterday was not an attempt to belittle or judge anyone who struggles with homosexuality. If you supported Chick-fil-A ,you shouldn’t let others make you feel bad for what you did, because exercising free speech and supporting something you believe in is a wonderful thing. But now that it’s all over and we have made our statement loud and clear, maybe it would be good for us to take a breath and ask ourselves why homosexuality gets us fired up like no other issue.
Would it surprise you to know Jesus didn’t bring up the topic of homosexuality one time in his whole ministry? It is brought up in several other parts of the Bible, but Jesus never addressed it. Not only that, but Jesus’ attitude towards those He encountered who struggled sexually was full of love and protection from those who wanted to judge and punish them.
God detests the sin of homosexuality. Living in that sin will separate you from God. But what’s crazy is while Jesus was on the earth, knowing he was going to take all of our sins with him to the cross, he never took a stand against anything except hypocrisy, or condemnation against the world.
I wish I had more clarity in my own heart about the correct way to handle the struggle with homosexuality in our culture, but I’m still trying to find the balance of love and truth that Jesus so perfectly struck.
There is one question I cannot shake every time I see the church passionately rise in defense of traditional marriage:
Do I treat my sin with as much disdain as I do others’ struggle with homosexuality?
I’ve written on this before, so I won’t rehash it all, but it amazes me how each generation picks a sin that they consider THE taboo sin, all while figuring out a way to remove the sins they struggle with from the list. Sins like slander, lying, gluttony, pride and selfishness are all overlooked or at least minimized to minor offenses against God. The one thing I can never shake after reading the Gospels is that the only people Jesus didn’t like while he lived on earth were the ones who wanted to police the sins of others.
God, help us to represent You with the perfect balance of truth and love. Help us to love those we would rather preach truth too, and help us to be truthful with those we love.
About the author
Jason is the Teaching Pastor at River City Worship Center in Louisville KY, and owns a web development company Jbirdmedia. He wanted all boys until he had his daughter Sadie and now he wants 4 girls. You can follow him on twitter @jasonisaacs
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by Jeff A Boyd on August 02, 2012
Although I recognize the obvious foundation of the event was based in disapproval of gay marriage, the protest was as much about the freedom of Dan Cathy to speak his mind as it was about homosexuality. Let's not be so myopic on the day. It was not just homosexual marriage, but an attempt by the liberal left to eviscerate Dan because he had an opinion. The interviews from yesterday should show us that many of the public came to support his right to believe and speak what is important to him. Free speech is sacrosanct. We should never be afraid to stand up for our Christian Values, although spoken in love. Jesus never condemned in his speech, but he did often say "go and sin no more". The church still needs to love and reach out, while still being allowed to voice our beliefs. I fully support the rights of people to choose whatever direction they wish their life to go. I pray that their choices are good ones and do not lead to harm for them. I will love them in spite of their choices and encourage them in the middle of the results of those choices. That will never change. But yesterday was not just about homosexuality.
by Bill Woodruff III on August 02, 2012
There is no balance between love and truth. God is Love, Jesus is the Truth. It is who He is; inherent to His being. We don't need anything to balance out the truth. Love passionately and speak the truth boldly. I'm not sure where we get this mutual exclusivity. I understand and respect that you would approach such a volatile subject with gentleness. You said "Jesus’ attitude towards those He encountered who struggled sexually was full of love and protection from those who wanted to judge and punish them." and "God detests the sin of homosexuality." There's no tension between those two. Love and Truth, not in balance but in the infinite depth that can only come from the eternal One. It is not our to strike a balance, but to point to the One who does both in the extreme.
by Lucas Cox on August 02, 2012
Jason, this rally isn't about homosexuality. It's about the blatant hypocrisy in both the media and certain mayors over Dan's comments. People simply were saying with their pocketbooks that they support Chick-fil-a and their owners' right to free speech without being attacked. There was nothing hateful about what Dan said, and people were disturbed by the ridiculous backlash Dan Cathy and Chick-fil-a had to deal with, as well as the threats they received from government officials and the media.
by Matt Monyhan on August 02, 2012
I dig the sentiment. I am not a fan of church protests or demonstrations. I don't recall seeing many of those in the Bible. That said, you have written a couple of times comparing homosexuality to other sins, most often with a tendency to label all sin as equal. That isn't really a biblical concept (in fact, the Bible often compares sins to one another, even going so far as to rate different levels of judgment for those sins). I am sure that you have come to this conclusion because "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God", but that does not make all sin equal. See, sin has ramifications on ourselves, the people around us, our children...a whole slew of people. I think this is why God speaks so strongly against sexual sin throughout the Bible, because of its consequences (and you can't say Jesus didn't address it because Jesus is the Word from John 1, so the whole Bible is Jesus addressing things...written in red or black makes no difference). That said, we don't make a difference in people's lives through demonstrative animosity. No one left Chick-Fil-A having been introduced to the Gospel...and likely, many will have been turned away because of what they perceive as a challenge. So, I agree with you on the broader points. Good writing.
by Kim Fanberg Wise on August 05, 2012
Jason, I love what you wrote! I have felt this way myself for some time, struggling with knowing how to with many issues of today and especially homosexuality. I have said the exact same things to people about Jesus and how he was toward people while hle was here on earth. I just have never said it as eloquently. It's nice to know that I'm not alone in questioning the actions of Christians and their attitudes towards non-believers sometimes. Thank you!
by Ron Smith on August 17, 2012
This statement in your article is actually simply not true. I do not say that with malice, I say it simply to stand for truth and to refute an erroneous statement. Here is the statement you made: "But what’s crazy is while Jesus was on the earth, knowing he was going to take all of our sins with him to the cross, he never took a stand against anything except hypocrisy, or condemnation against the world." Jesus actually took a stand against MANY other sins...even taking the position that sin is something that is present EVEN BEFORE we take action. Remember Jesus discussing what "you say" regarding murder, adultery, lust, etc...then Jesus saying that HE said that to even commit one of these sins INWARDLY..."in your heart"...is to be GUILTY of that sin. Also, it should be noted for the sake of context and truth that Jesus spoke to those He encountered, thus dealing with the primary issues of sin which was present within the people He came in contact with. The Bible would be MUCH longer if Jesus had actually been required by US or anyone to address every possible sin which is present in people and in this world. So, to say that Jesus did NOT speak on a subject is not a truth which allows for the facts that I just mentioned. Also, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God, and the Word was with God." Jesus Himself was and is the inspiration for ALL WORDS IN SCRIPTURE. We CANNOT simply look at the words "written in red" and say that Jesus did not speak on an issue. If ANY subject is present in the Word of God...then Jesus DID INDEED speak on it...for the Word of God IS Jesus...and Jesus IS the Word of God. I would also agree with those here who would say that you actually miss the point of the Chik-fil-a saga: it was about CHRISTIAN VIEWS...any stance for TRUTH and GOD'S WORD...being viewed as WRONG and HATEFUL. It is NOT wrong or hateful to believe the truth of God's Word...it is called ACTUALLY BELIEVING THAT THE BIBLE MEANS WHAT IT SAYS. Also, the Chik-fil-a saga was about FREE SPEECH and being able to hold CHRISTIAN VIEWS without being vilified for doing so. I would also note that, at my present age of 48, that I HAVE to state that this modern day thought that Christians are focusing almost exclusively on HOMOSEXUALITY is also a false premise. It simply is NOT true. I have been alive long enough to watch the Church...Christians...deal the same way regarding PORNOGRAPHY and ABORTION and MANY other issues. Yes, you do not tend to see marches against GOSSIP. Sin is sin...but to fail to recognize the fact societal issues and consequences of things like HOMOSEXUALITY, PORNOGRAPHY AND ABORTION is to actually refuse to see the dangers of the works of Satan. Satan is not using lies and society to fight the sin of GOSSIP...but Satan is SURELY using all his power to fight the sin HOMOSEXUALITY AND PORNOGRAPHY AND ABORTION...using his power to create a society where these SINS are no longer SINS. And...my belief is that Christians, who are supposed to be the Army of God, are to do battle with Satan on the battle fronts by which he is attacking truth within the Church. And, make no mistake, Satan's tactics are to get HOMOSEXUALITY and PORNOGRAPHY and ABORTION "marginalized"...to get not only society to view these SINS as NON-SINS...but he is actually being successful at getting the CHURCH to see these issues as NON-SINS. We cannot always choose the battle nor the battle front. We are to take the fight to Satan! The Bible DOES NOT say that Satan shall not prevail against the gates of heaven...Scripture says "Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." We ARE to be on the OFFENSIVE side of this battle! We ARE to fight! We ARE NOT to give ground! I believe this with all that is within me. I am not one to protest, etc. But I AM one to take a stand...popular or not. God bless!
by Ron Smith on August 17, 2012
Matt Monyhan...at the Chik-fil-a in Southaven, MS...there was indeed witnessing and the sharing of the Gospel. There were Church groups out telling others about Jesus, sharing His love and His truth. Maybe not ALL areas experienced this...and, with you, that is sad if that is the case. But I know of MANY places where Christians were sharing the good news of JESUS that day. Just saying this so you can see that there were some GREAT instances where this day was more than a "protest" or a "stance"...many took the opportunity to tell others about JESUS! Praise God!
by Ron Smith on August 17, 2012
Sorry for the subsequent posts, but I also want to mention on other factor: Jesus had come primarily to the JEWS. There were even instructions to the Disciples regarding this issue. Thus, Jesus primarily dealt with JEWISH issues, such as "adherence to the law"...which was the belief that obeying man-made religious law was the way to salvation. Of course, Jesus came to renounce that...thus, His heavy focus on the religious system. But, at the death of Jesus, a "new way" was instituted, and the Gospel was to be preached to all the world...Jew, Gentiles and so on. Scripture even denotes that, upon the coming Rapture of the Church, that the period we call the TRIBULATION will once again focus on the Jews, with the 144,000 being evangelist to the world, and Scripture denoting that the blinded eyes of the Jewish people will be opened to the reality of the fact that Jesus was/is the Christ. But, again, Jesus did NOT deal with EVERY sin that is possible...He dealt with the sins that were present in those He spoke to. Thus, His subject matter was heavily involved with RELIGIOUS PHONINESS. But, Jesus is the very VERBAL INSPIRATION for EVERY word written by ANY WRITER of portions of Scripture. Thus, we recognize that a WORD written by Paul, or Peter, or John, etc is actually a WORD inspired by JESUS. Again, Satan is not so busy trying to tell the world that MURDER is ok (even though in some instances he is! Look at the Islamic teachings) or that gossip is ok (yet many seem to think it is): Satan is HEAVILY trying to tell the world that HOMOSEXUALITY is OK. And, we MUST focus on that subject, also! Why?? Because we MUST take this subject away from the realm of being "a cause"...and, in doing so, we recognize that EVERY HOMOSEXUAL who believes the lie of Satan will spend eternity in hell! And, we MUST speak out...telling them that they have believed a lie. We MUST SPEAK so that the LIE OF SATAN is refuted! ONLY when TRUTH breaks through the ARMORMENT OF SATAN...which is DECEPTION...can the sinner be set free! Therefore, the Church MUST focus on the battle front at which Satan is unleashing His most destructive lies.
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