Thursday, August 2, 2012

take the nuggets but give me jesus

weapons of warfare are not typically reserved to a particular entity involved in the combat. you will not find knives given to the bad guys while the good guys are given guns and vice versa. this is what makes super heros so great and admired because they have this transcending element that enables them to not require instruments made by human hands in order to defeat their opponent (for all of us followers of the way say amen). we all love the defeat of the enemy and the triumph of good against the odds.

with this understood, you can be assured, if you are wanting to engage in combat, there is a strong chance that your enemy will likewise be using the same weapon that you are using to fight the battle against you. you really shouldn't be surprised by this. in fact, you're a fool to suspect otherwise.

this is why as a follower of christ and a believer in his sanctifying work on the cross, paul writes to the members of the ephesian church urging them to fight using a different weapon because the adversary is of another realm (ephesians 6:12-18).

there is warfare taking place and thus weapons are used to engage in this struggle. i am challenged daily to ask myself which weapons am i using to fight this war.

as a citizen of the greatest nation on the face of the earth i am proud to study the historical body of work that outlines how my nation has gained what it now possesses. much of what i have is because men fought, poured blood, gave family and property, in order to make freedom a reality for themselves and generations that followed. this cause is great and daily under-appreciated.

however great the cause is it still falls short of divine. it represents a great shadow, but fails to accomplish my souls greatest need. it fails to meet anyone's greatest need of redemption. the constitution, the bill of rights, or any other document will ALWAYS fall short. a culture war might be won by such a document. a battle to back a particular legal position might appropriately be able to utilize the principles in ink of our great founding fathers and their handiwork. using the language of "rights as an american" is NOT language used in the kingdom of god. in fact you might find the citizen of the kingdom of god standing opposite, as it is outlined in matthew 5.

you will not be able to fight a spiritual battle ever with the constitution of government. even if it is the government of the greatest nation on this earth.

1. imagine if every one of those individuals who went into chick-fil-a to get food to support mr cathy's right would have given even half of what they spent at chick-fil-a to their local church?

2. imagine if the church had the traffic problems chick-fil-a had with people wrapped around the building and officers there to direct the flow of traffic into the parking lot.

3. imagine if we could love righteousness as much as we love chick-fil-a sandwiches (or if you are me, those wonderful nuggets).

4. imagine if we could faithfully minister to the lost as boldly as we stand up for our "rights." regardless if they want jesus and his definition of marriage or not.

this isn't a john lennon song, this is watching my nation, from the outside in (living in belgium), mobilize for a cause they believe in. i am confused as to which cause they were even fighting...free speech, or immorality?

i believe the cause was free speech because...
-no one, in their right mind, would wait that long for lunch. especially in a land that hails of the fastest food provided.
-no one has changed their perspective on gay marriage today that had the same perspective as they did august 1st when they went into chick-fil-a.
-no one is going to exclusively eat at chick-fil-a the rest of their life.

i love the u.s.a and the freedoms it provides to its citizens. mr. cathy's statement and position concerning marriage is one that i share. i believe in his right to say it and think it is absurd how the idea of tolerance is out of balance. i also EXPECT the lost people of the united states to approach christianity using the instrument of law and the constitution. therefore i expect in the arena of same sex marriage for them to present the case through the angle of civil rights. that is how immorality becomes justifiable to the lost...through the law (isn't that twisted?). but i do not wish to engage in a war with lost people using carnal weapons because what it accomplishes is the bolstering of more pride. please don't see this is as condemnation against the many who plea for a righteous government and intercede on behalf of our president, congressman, and those who work to keep jesus as the center of this nation in the political field.

if we are going to fight morality with the law we are ALL condemned. that is why jesus came...because we couldn't fight morality with righteousness. so lets put away this carnal, american, ideology of our "rights." an action to voice/proclaim your right to have rights and the opposite side of this particular battle of immorality both carry the same heart issue...pride and idolatry.

when i get back to the states i am going to have chick-fil-a nuggets and i will also enjoy a cup of coffee from starbucks, but not together, thats gross.

4 comments:

bullets said...

i love chick-fil-a and i love everyone who went yesterday...even my mom and dad.

Anonymous said...

my thoughts on it are here...

http://www.electorate.me/posts/53-chicken-sandwiches-record-breaking-sales-and-the-decline-of-public-discourse

bullets said...

yes dan, i read your post and agreed with the analysis. i need to read that book. i wanted to when i heard about it in grad school but had since forgotten about it.

Anonymous said...

awesome! -dan