The Great Divide

I originally didn't want to write anything about this whole Chick-Fil-A controversy, but then I felt convicted because the only reason why I didn't want to was because I was afraid of being spoken against- I'm a coward. I'm fighting against being a coward.

I have this friend who is gay and Christian and has been super outspoken about their disgust with Chick-Fil-A and all of the Christians who oppose equal rights for the LGBTQ community. I have this other friend who is not gay and is a Christian and has been super outspoken about how ridiculous they think that all of these boycotts of Chick-Fil-A have been and that there's no reason for anyone to be surprised by the stance that Chick-Fil-A has taken. As you could probably guess they have been arguing like crazy and it finally hit me how absolutely absurd this situation is and it breaks my heart.

I feel like I'm asking for a prayer request for two friends to stop fighting, but if it's happening between them, imagine what the fight is looking like across the nation. There's not only a gap being made between the Christian community and the LGBTQ community, but there's a gap being made between Christians.

I'm really sick of all of this Chick-Fil-A stuff simply because as Christians it's really hard to be in the middle of the controversy. No matter what, I'm taking a side that is against other Christians. If I support Chick-Fil-A then all of the LGBTQ community and "progressive Christians" think I hate them, am a bigot, or a homophobe (none of which are true). And then if I don't support Chick-Fil-A, "conservative Christians" think I'm a heathen and am supporting sin as a civil right. Either way it goes, I'm supporting a divide of Christians and an even greater divide between Christians and the LGBTQ community.

I believe in following Jesus above all else and I have a feeling that if he were here, in the flesh, today- he wouldn't be saying, "Well done, my good and faithful servants." Reasons why?

1. We aren't being the ONE body of Christ we're called to be. We are DISMEMBERING it. Romans 12:5, 1 Corinthians 12: 12-20 (Really all of 1 Corinthians 12)

2. We aren't loving people well (the LGBTQ community, Christians, people who aren't Christians, people in general). Ephesians 4:1-6. Galatians 5:13, Colossians 4:5-6

3. We're forgetting our purpose on this earth isn't THIS. Isaiah 43:7, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Psalm 86:12

Christians, when people are looking at us and this divide, do they see Jesus or our own petty need to be right? Do they see Jesus at all? Do they see the body of Christ at all? Are we glorifying God with everything we do, or are we seeking to be right over being righteous?

In all honesty, if I believe in following Jesus above all else, my convictions are that it's not up to me to decide whether or not the LGBTQ community has equal rights, nor is it my place to say that they do or don't deserve them. I wasn't put on this earth to make those decisions. I was placed on this earth to love people and proclaim the name of Jesus, to be the salt of the earth, to be an heir to His throne, to serve God and glorify Him in everything I do. I was called to be part of a body of believers running towards God in the light of the Gospel- in the light of the Truth that God has laid before us.

As a Christian I wasn't called to give in to Satan who is trying to create this great divide. When people divide, we're weak, but I'm called to be strong.

Christians, I beg you, realize what is happening- we are taking sides against one another.

In Ireland, there is a huge divide- the Catholics and the Protestants. They're divided by a line into Northern and Southern Ireland. There are kids who live 15 minutes away from each other who have never spoken to one another simply because of the divide that a war put between them hundreds of years ago. They believe in the blood of Jesus covering them, they are children of God above everything else, but have been taught since they were born that the divide can't be fixed. I watched a documentary about these children coming together to surf. It was the first time that they had met each other and the first time that they came together just to do something fun and realized how alike they actually are and how the divide can be fixed if they put aside their differences and focus on Jesus.

I refuse to take a stand that is going to put me on one side or another when it comes to Christianity. I refuse to play into the divide that is in the process of being made. In the midst of this controversy, let's not forget the common ground that will always stand true- Jesus.