Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Southern Chicken and Sin...


I don't write to you guys like I should...I'm spending all my free time trying to be in your life so I've struggled to share with you the things I want to tell you about life. I am thinking about you today and this world we've brought you into... Tomorrow a lot of people, people I know and love even, will be going out to a particular fast food restaurant as a show of Christian solidarity. Seems a certain southern entrepreneur recently got vocal about his support for traditional marriage....now this wasn't news to anyone, but it got everyone in a bit of a frenzy. Mommy and mama are Christians and we love that chicken place and we believe in a lot of things that they believe in so it's been difficult to express my feelings about this. What that man said rubbed me the wrong way, but I don't suppose it was the content of his message so much as maybe it was just the arrogance of his delivery. I'm married to my first wife too, Mr. Cathy. Let me tell you where I think he might have gotten it wrong. I'll start by saying that I don't believe that God has a problem with gay people...I'm gay so I've spent a lot of time thinking about it and I think I would be alone and sad if I believed that it was what God wanted for me. I don't believe that, but most people do so I don't mind starting from the assumption that being gay is a sin, which is what I believe Dan Cathy might site as the basis for his message. Being overweight is a sin....the fried chicken people don't feel the need tell you their position on that. Fat people aren't ostracized from participating in organized religion. We can bring our fat friends to church without having to immediately turn the conversation to how to get that person thin so they can be right with God. I trust that putting a whole lot of love on someone will create the channel for God to do great works in their life.  If being gay is a sin, so is over eating, and gossiping, and lying and a multitude of other things that you are liable to do today. The Good News, the news that Jesus wants to share with you is that your sins are forgivable. You'll never be free of sin, but putting your faith in Him can transform you from the person you are today to something more worthy. Instead of inflaming people, creating a divide between believers and people that may feel unloved or separated from God because of sin, I guess I would have preferred that Dan Cathy had used his platform to share the Good News. I don't care that you support traditional marriage Dan, marriage is not a man made institution, we don't get to define it...marriage is a covenant that only God can define and we are on thin ice when take the moral authority upon ourselves to attempt to grant or deny access to covenants with God. Now those 1,100 some-odd federal rights I'm denied because of civil marriage laws....that's all man made...and we probably need to talk about that....

1 comment:

  1. Very well said, Shy. I made the comment to emphasize the word Divorce. Half of the hypocrites making a big to do about same sex marriage are the same ones that are divorced or married to someone divorced or choose to ignore That part of his comment, but if you are going to spout off on one part, you need to be in agreement with all of it. He has a right to his opinion and I respect that. I love eating at Chick fil'a and will continue to do so. And I love you and Laura being married and will continue to do so. If you are a true Christian, you will love all people, not just the ones that you consider "acceptable". We all need to remember this.

    ReplyDelete