Did I Miss Something?

The world can really wear you down. As I'm typing these words on a Friday night, I look back at the week gone by and shake my head.

Missed opportunities.... that has been a common theme in my life this week. I see them everywhere.

The one that sticks with me the most surrounds this Chick-fil-A drama. And it isn't my missed opportunity, it is that of the church and Christians everywhere. {yeah, I'm going to go there...}

I believe in equal rights for all - men, women, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, gay, lesbian, straight, etc. I believe in loving my fellow man. I believe in free speech, and I am grateful for the right to exercise it at even this very moment. I believe in God and walk closer to Him today than I ever have at any other point in my life. I know of His grace and mercy.

I watched Wednesday as millions of people lined up to spend their money funding hate and intolerance. The average Joe didn't know that is what he did and that wasn't why he went there. But that is what the end result is. {I encourage you to do some research on the organizations Chick-fil-A funnels your money to. I think you'd be as shocked as I was.}

Now I know that the large majority of those people weren't there in protest against homosexuals or gay rights. In fact, I feel certain that most were there in support of an issue or a cause - freedom of speech, traditional family values, or whatever soap box you stand on. And that issue became more important than showing God's love and kindness to our fellow man.

"Nobody knows what we're for only what we're against when we judge... What if we put down our signs, crossed over the lines and loved like You did?"... my favorite lines from a Casting Crowns song couldn't be more fitting. People on both sides of this issue spewing venom at one another is what I saw this week.

"Hate the sin, love the sinner" is preached behind pulpits every week. My observation is that the church is putting more energy into "hating the sin" than it is "loving the sinner" and yesterday was a perfect example of that. I don't know one homosexual person that felt the love on Wednesday. People were so quick and eager to jump on the band wagon, that they missed an opportunity to show God's love to the world. 

When issues and causes become more important than reaching people's hearts, something is terribly wrong.