What a week this has been! And all over a fried piece of chicken and some waffle fries. However, if we step back a minute and look at the events of this week, it's pretty easy to see that in the end, the issue is not the issue. It's kind of like in marital counseling when a couple comes in who is at an impasse over a certain issue. Upon further examination or after a little digging you realize that the issues underneath "the issue" are really fueling the problem.
I have watched as Facebook went CRAZY this week with convicted people on
both sides hurling insults, accusations, generalizations, etc. Then,
interestingly, after the issues grew and morphed, many tried to come back and
say...this is only about Dan Cathey's right to free speech. (As an aside, I
support Dan's rights and his faith. I believe that he sincerely shared his
heart and then his comments were used to fuel a war...for both left and right.)
Here's where this all gets sticky. Yes, on some level this all began with Dan's
right to share...which was not helped by the dumb mayors of Chicago and Boston.
But it didn't end there. And, unfortunately, the LGBT community weren't
the only ones who made a big stink about it (as some have said). I'd say the responsibility went both ways. The
religious right took all of this and used it just as much as the other side.
And, perception is reality...especially when it comes to the way we love the
LGBT community.
Whether we like it or not, this has turned into a we vs. they
kind of deal. I wish you guys could be privy to my inbox today and the
heart-wrenching conversations I've had with people...all who feel so hurt and
angry over the hubbub yesterday...people who struggle, friends of people who
struggle, parents of kids who struggle...all feeling so frustrated, hurt,
irritated, etc. It may have started out to be about civil liberties but isn't
it funny how when it's YOUR civil liberties in question it feels justifiable to
rant?
The bridges to
the LGBT community have been blown to Hell so many times (and I mean that
literally) by well-intentioned Christians that it's barely able to be navigated
anymore. We have such a LONG way to go in communicating love to that community
and we are at such a deficit with them already that anything that smacks of us
against them is hurtful...even under the most innocent of motives.
I am attaching a link here that has been widely circulated and as Lynn Anderson has said, is one of the most thoughtful responses to this whole event. Chic-Fil-A entry
I know Brent
Bailey well. He is a Godly man who is struggling with his own brokenness and
desires and who wants to live a life that is pleasing to God (as we all hope to). He never chose to
feel the things he feels. He's merely seeking to know how to honor God as he
works out all of those things. Imagine being in his shoes and reading posts
like the ones that "well meaning" Christians have posted over the
last 24 hours. No wonder so many people in the LGBT community won't set their
feet anywhere near a church building.
Dan Cathey had a right to say what he did
and I appreciate greatly his faith. But when forces outside his control took it
over...on both sides...the issue was no longer the issue...no matter what we
may think. And we, as true followers of God who are called to deeper things
MUST learn to respond in love. Always. So, the arguments now about how this is
not about gay people...it's about religious liberties...don't mean a lot to me.
I think it WAS about that in the beginning, but it morphed. (And not only because of rantings by the LGBT community...Christians too.)
I deeply and profoundly appreciate
my religious freedom, but I would always hope I could stand up for a person
OVER my own freedom. It doesn't mean if you ate at Chic-Fil-A that you're
bad...heck, I love their food! It just means that sometimes we have to take a
deep breath and realize there is more at play here and that precious, precious
souls are watching...waiting...wondering how the faith community will react.
When already so wounded by churches, the lines are too easy to cross and it's
OUR responsibility to discern those.
