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Why I Didn’t Eat at Chick Fil A Today
by CAROLE CHAPUT on AUGUST 2, 2012
Not that you care, I just feel like expressing this…
Our family eats a lot of Chick Fil A.
A lot.
Too much really.
We should own stock in the company, but oh yea, we can’t because it’s privately held.
I support Chick Fil A’s stand for traditional marriage and for their adherence to Christian business practices. Thanks be to God, CFA does much good in our communities.
But I don’t idolize CFA.
CFA is an entity run and led by fallen humans just like the rest of us…and the rest of the world for that matter.
Sinners saved by grace.
The unmerited, undeserved grace of Jesus Christ.
Saints in and through the righteousness of Christ alone.
I don’t have a problem with CFA.
And I do think the attacks that CFA and Dan Cathy endured in the media and from liberal politicians have been unfair, unjustified and a clear violation of First Amendment rights.
But what is disconcerting and telling is how the conservative Christian community reacted to CFA’s unjust treatment. I can’t help but feel that the response has been on the level of “tit for tat” if you know what I mean?
Anti- Christian liberals respond “in the flesh” to Dan Cathy’s support for Christian values, so how did conservative Christians respond?
I’m sorry if this offends you but I believe we Christians responded “in the flesh” right back to our anti-Christian values opponents. In other words, did we look any different than our opponents? Or did we merely play the “tit for tat” game?
Where is the love people?
And for crying out loud, where is the Spirit of the living God?
Where oh where, pray tell, is the gospel of Jesus Christ in all of this?
I’m sorry again…because this will offend “good” Christian, church going people, but this whole “CFA appreciation day” backlash has had me thinking about the story in John chapter 8 of the woman caught in adultery.
In Jesus’ day, adultery was the socially unacceptable sexual sin amongst the religious, much like homosexuality is today. It’s ironic since we Christians pick and choose which sins are acceptable and tolerable in our own sight…our “pet” sins…never mind about how God views them. We set ourselves up as judge and jury when it comes to the sin meter, don’t we? The sins we are guilty of are, of course, the acceptable ones, while the sins which others commit that are different than our own are the unacceptable sins.
Of course.
That’s how we play the game.
We are always.
At all times.
Better.
More righteous.
And more worthy.
Than those who sin differently than we do.
Of course.
That’s how the game is played.
So there she is, caught and surrounded by a hostile, clinched fists, stone holding crowd.
Ready to unleash a barrage of jagged rocks that will beat and batter her to death.
Law breathing.
Self-righteous.
Condemning.
Religious souls.
Perhaps as a setup to trap Jesus, they bring her to Him.
Oh praise be to God!
Those bent on her destruction and death brought her into the very Presence of deliverance and Life.
What the enemy intended for evil, the Lord intended for good!
Pure brilliance.
Pure goodness.
Pure holiness.
Pure beauty ensues.
As the angry crowd awaits Jesus’ judgment regarding the woman, Jesus pauses, bends down and begins to write in the sand.
What oh what did He write? Don’t we wish we knew?
I like to imagine He wrote something simple yet profound…something like “Think” or “Love” or “Mercy”.
But don’t miss the fact that He paused.
Jesus paused.
As if to say through His pause, “Be still and know that I am God.”
He didn’t react like we are so prone to react. He was quiet and He responded thoughtfully, not emotively or reactively.
Jesus didn’t play “tit for tat” games with His opponents. He responded on a completely different level, a higher plane:
“If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” John 8:7
Then He paused, stooped down again and wrote on the ground.
I’d REALLY love to know what He wrote this time.
“Just who do you think you are?” comes to mind as appropriate for the moment. Or how about, “There is only One Righteous Judge and you are MOST definitely not Him.”
Hmmm…Jesus paused again…
“Be still and know that I am God.”
“I am God and you are not.”
Let that sink into your stone clenching souls.
You know the rest of the story.
One by one they drop their stones and walk away.
Jesus and the woman are left alone.
This is the profound good that God brought forth from the humiliating situation.
The woman is alone and face to face with Jesus.
A divine encounter with unconditional love and lavish grace.
Jesus does not condemn her.
Jesus does not condemn her.
Jesus does not condemn her.
Did you get that?
JESUS DOES NOT CONDEMN HER.
Jesus sets her free from the condemnation of the law and the condemnation of the self-righteous religious crowd with these words:
“Neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11).
Beautiful, breathtaking, game changing, Jesus.
And the polar opposite response of the fire breathing, stone clenching, hell bent on judgment and condemnation crowd.
Wouldn’t it be encouraging to see this kind of response from conservative Christians under attack or persecution? What if we played the part of Jesus in the story and responded thoughtfully instead of reactively? What if we humbly acknowledged that NOT ONE OF US is without sin, therefore we have no grounds to throw stones at our opponents or to play “tit for tat” games with them.
What if our stones were merely disguised as chicken sandwiches today?
Could it be that we played the part of the condemning crowd unleashing a barrage of self-righteous stones that battered and beat those we are called to love and set free through the gospel?
After all, what was accomplished today?
Did CFA make gobs of money as a “reward” for standing for traditional marriage? What kingdom purpose did that serve?
Did the divisions between the Christian community and our opponents get deeper?
Did the love of Christ grow longer, wider, deeper or higher in our lives or in our communities?
Was the gospel represented well, in a manner worthy of Christ?
Did anyone come face to face with Jesus today?
Did any sinners, of the self-righteous sort or the scandalous sort, encounter unconditional love or healing grace today?
Maybe…just maybe…the gospel would have been far better served today if we had put down our chicken sandwiches and picked up the banner of love instead…
And that’s why I didn’t eat at Chick-Fil-A today.
Tomorrow however is another story.
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, 
I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10
by CAROLE CHAPUT on AUGUST 2, 2012
Not that you care, I just feel like expressing this…
Our family eats a lot of Chick Fil A.
A lot.
Too much really.
We should own stock in the company, but oh yea, we can’t because it’s privately held.
I support Chick Fil A’s stand for traditional marriage and for their adherence to Christian business practices. Thanks be to God, CFA does much good in our communities.
But I don’t idolize CFA.
CFA is an entity run and led by fallen humans just like the rest of us…and the rest of the world for that matter.
Sinners saved by grace.
The unmerited, undeserved grace of Jesus Christ.
Saints in and through the righteousness of Christ alone.
I don’t have a problem with CFA.
And I do think the attacks that CFA and Dan Cathy endured in the media and from liberal politicians have been unfair, unjustified and a clear violation of First Amendment rights.
But what is disconcerting and telling is how the conservative Christian community reacted to CFA’s unjust treatment. I can’t help but feel that the response has been on the level of “tit for tat” if you know what I mean?
Anti- Christian liberals respond “in the flesh” to Dan Cathy’s support for Christian values, so how did conservative Christians respond?
I’m sorry if this offends you but I believe we Christians responded “in the flesh” right back to our anti-Christian values opponents. In other words, did we look any different than our opponents? Or did we merely play the “tit for tat” game?
Where is the love people?
And for crying out loud, where is the Spirit of the living God?
Where oh where, pray tell, is the gospel of Jesus Christ in all of this?
I’m sorry again…because this will offend “good” Christian, church going people, but this whole “CFA appreciation day” backlash has had me thinking about the story in John chapter 8 of the woman caught in adultery.
In Jesus’ day, adultery was the socially unacceptable sexual sin amongst the religious, much like homosexuality is today. It’s ironic since we Christians pick and choose which sins are acceptable and tolerable in our own sight…our “pet” sins…never mind about how God views them. We set ourselves up as judge and jury when it comes to the sin meter, don’t we? The sins we are guilty of are, of course, the acceptable ones, while the sins which others commit that are different than our own are the unacceptable sins.
Of course.
That’s how we play the game.
We are always.
At all times.
Better.
More righteous.
And more worthy.
Than those who sin differently than we do.
Of course.
That’s how the game is played.
So there she is, caught and surrounded by a hostile, clinched fists, stone holding crowd.
Ready to unleash a barrage of jagged rocks that will beat and batter her to death.
Law breathing.
Self-righteous.
Condemning.
Religious souls.
Perhaps as a setup to trap Jesus, they bring her to Him.
Oh praise be to God!
Those bent on her destruction and death brought her into the very Presence of deliverance and Life.
What the enemy intended for evil, the Lord intended for good!
Pure brilliance.
Pure goodness.
Pure holiness.
Pure beauty ensues.
As the angry crowd awaits Jesus’ judgment regarding the woman, Jesus pauses, bends down and begins to write in the sand.
What oh what did He write? Don’t we wish we knew?
I like to imagine He wrote something simple yet profound…something like “Think” or “Love” or “Mercy”.
But don’t miss the fact that He paused.
Jesus paused.
As if to say through His pause, “Be still and know that I am God.”
He didn’t react like we are so prone to react. He was quiet and He responded thoughtfully, not emotively or reactively.
Jesus didn’t play “tit for tat” games with His opponents. He responded on a completely different level, a higher plane:
“If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” John 8:7
Then He paused, stooped down again and wrote on the ground.
I’d REALLY love to know what He wrote this time.
“Just who do you think you are?” comes to mind as appropriate for the moment. Or how about, “There is only One Righteous Judge and you are MOST definitely not Him.”
Hmmm…Jesus paused again…
“Be still and know that I am God.”
“I am God and you are not.”
Let that sink into your stone clenching souls.
You know the rest of the story.
One by one they drop their stones and walk away.
Jesus and the woman are left alone.
This is the profound good that God brought forth from the humiliating situation.
The woman is alone and face to face with Jesus.
A divine encounter with unconditional love and lavish grace.
Jesus does not condemn her.
Jesus does not condemn her.
Jesus does not condemn her.
Did you get that?
JESUS DOES NOT CONDEMN HER.
Jesus sets her free from the condemnation of the law and the condemnation of the self-righteous religious crowd with these words:
“Neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11).
Beautiful, breathtaking, game changing, Jesus.
And the polar opposite response of the fire breathing, stone clenching, hell bent on judgment and condemnation crowd.
Wouldn’t it be encouraging to see this kind of response from conservative Christians under attack or persecution? What if we played the part of Jesus in the story and responded thoughtfully instead of reactively? What if we humbly acknowledged that NOT ONE OF US is without sin, therefore we have no grounds to throw stones at our opponents or to play “tit for tat” games with them.
What if our stones were merely disguised as chicken sandwiches today?
Could it be that we played the part of the condemning crowd unleashing a barrage of self-righteous stones that battered and beat those we are called to love and set free through the gospel?
After all, what was accomplished today?
Did CFA make gobs of money as a “reward” for standing for traditional marriage? What kingdom purpose did that serve?
Did the divisions between the Christian community and our opponents get deeper?
Did the love of Christ grow longer, wider, deeper or higher in our lives or in our communities?
Was the gospel represented well, in a manner worthy of Christ?
Did anyone come face to face with Jesus today?
Did any sinners, of the self-righteous sort or the scandalous sort, encounter unconditional love or healing grace today?
Maybe…just maybe…the gospel would have been far better served today if we had put down our chicken sandwiches and picked up the banner of love instead…
And that’s why I didn’t eat at Chick-Fil-A today.
Tomorrow however is another story.
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, 
I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10
