Posted on Mon, Aug 05, 2012 at  11:34 a.m. (EST) and 09:04 p.m. (IST), AUG 2012 Edition

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“Always Appreciating And Positively Promoting ChickFil-A Company's Christ Centered Message Makes Followers Failures???

Ramesh C. Reddy
Publisher

Editors Note: Reddy's Rhetoric today is a rebuttal to Matthew Turner's column, '5 Reasons Why the Church Failed Yesterday!"

Always appreciating and positively promoting Chick Fil-A company’s Christ centered message makes followers of Christ a failure is what those who are promoting Matthew Turner's column, '5 Reasons Why the Church Failed Yesterday'  want you to believe. Turner and those who support him have been against actions of the church that flocked to Chick Fil A in massive numbers for 'Chick Fil A Appreciation Day' on Aug 01, 2012.

I asked myself how would I address the question about church, law, love, rallying around a restaurant or cause if loving a law is seen as more important than loving people?

If the law is meant to be God’s Word, then my wife and I hope and pray we love God’s Word more than we love people because if we put the love of people over the love of God’s Word first, we may as well call ourselves secular humanists instead of followers of Christ.

Secular humanists follow the philosophy of humanism, an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters by rejecting religious beliefs.

The love of people should never come at the expense of the love of God because if it does we will succumb to the pressure of obeying man in the name of love more than God. God never endorsed that.

On the contrary, the Bible says, “We must obey God rather than men!” (Acts 5:29)

 “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:36-38)

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.  And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26-27)

This means Jesus wants us to love God more than ourselves & other people so we are not deceived into thinking ‘love your neighbor as yourself’ means loving them above God. God wants Him to be our first love! With that do come commands that we need to follow to show that we love God.

I wonder if Turner and all who support Turner's views about how the church has failed would change their mind if they read the 'Letters to the 7 Churches' given in Revelation by the Lord Jesus.

To different churches, Jesus did not address ‘how the leaders did not love people’ but Jesus did address ‘how the leaders did not love God above anyone or anything!'
 
To the Church in Ephesus, Jesus said, “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.  But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” (Revelation 2:4-7)

 Do you know the practices of the Nicolaitans which Jesus also hates?

 The practices of the Nicolaitans had to do with sexual immorality which Jesus also hates.

Isn’t it interesting that Jesus did not tell the church, ‘You hate the Nicolaitans’?

Instead, by stating, ‘You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate’, Jesus is commending the church for hating the PRACTICE of sexual immorality not the immoral person. Jesus still wants the person to be loved keeping with the commandment, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ without compromising on taking a stand against sexual immorality.

To the Church in Pergamum, Jesus said, “Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”  (Revelation 2:14-16)

To the Church in Thyatira, Jesus said, “Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you):Only hold on to what you have until I come.” (Revelation 2:20-25)

"Will you think the Lord Jesus is not loving because He spoke out against sexual immorality warning of judgment to come?'

If Jezebel felt hated because her actions were spoken out against, does that mean the Lord Jesus did not love Jezebel anymore?

If we look at it through the views of Turner and those who support his view, we would say 'YES' because we would rationalize how can a loving God do that! In our situation, we would rationalize how can a church allow something like Chick Fil A Appreciation Day to happen.

But love is not bound by our worldly definition of love but God’s definition of love in the same way that ‘Being good’ is not defined by our worldly definition but by God’s definition of goodness to which He says, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.!" (Romans 3:10-12)

Will you stop sharing,  “No one is good, not one, all have fallen short of the glory of God”(Romans 3:23), if you think they will feel hated because you tell them they are not good?

I hope not! If you do, then you are once again following humanistic love and not God’s love! There is no middle ground. Loving God’s way is proclaiming the Truth by words or actions.

Jesus concludes the letters to the churches with this promise: “ Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 3:19-22)

Do you think the Lord Jesus would have been happy with the church if it remained silent to this whole same-sex marriage - Chick Fil A controversy?

In essence, what the Lord Jesus is saying is that loving others also involves rebuke and discipline!

Yet, Turner and his supporters declared the church failed because the act of supporting Chick Fil A that day involved a rebuke of the LGBT community which was not love.

Turner goes on to write that if you keep telling a person what they are doing is wrong, wrong, wrong every time, how can they feel loved but only hated!

Then, what is love?

Is it tolerating any sin whatsoever so people do not feel hated?

Yet, this is the message that has come across by Turner's promotion on why the church failed.

Did the Lord Jesus fail for speaking out for Truth in Revelation?

No!, because Jesus understands what the love He wants to spread involves. It is not just a feel good, do what you want kind of love but involves being upset over evil and rejoicing with the Truth.

Those rallying around Chick-Fil-A could have even rallied because they rejoiced in the truth of the sanctity of marriage wanting to show their support to Cathy while renouncing the evil of same sex marriage because it is seen as a sin in God's eyes being likened to sexual immorality.

“ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” (1 Corinthians 13:6)

Rejoicing in the Truth also means proclaiming there is judgment without repentance for sexual immorality regardless whether it is adultery, homosexuality, etc. It is not about being tolerant in the name of love.

To the Church in Thyatira, Jesus said, “Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idol. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.  Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you):Only hold on to what you have until I come.” (Revelation 2:20-25)

 Is the media all over this letter to the Church in Thyatira because Jesus made statements of judgment against the church for tolerating sexual immorality?

 Not one station reported on this letter in Revelation but the media, LGBT community, and politicians have been pouncing on Cathy and all those who support his view when he gave an interview to the Baptist Press stating, “we’re inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage. And I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude that thinks we have the audacity to redefine what marriage is all about.”

Is this quote from a follower of Christ any different regarding judgment then what the Lord Jesus wrote to the church in Thyatira?

Yet, the media, LGBT community, and politicians have demonized Cathy for speaking up for the sanctity of marriage and against sexual immorality. They have gone as far as promoting the boycott of Chick-Fil-A, asking for the removal of Chick-Fil A from college campuses, or denying a permit for them to exist until they change their views on the sanctity of marriage.

So, when the church has come together to support one of their own who spoke out against sexual immorality, the church has not failed. If anything, it shows the church hating the practices that God hates.

Sadly, those Christians who openly hate the practices of sexual immorality are seen as hating gay people when they speak out against gay marriage, rally around a cause, etc.

By hating the sexual practices of the LGBT community does not mean we hate the LGBT community itself. There is a difference here between practice and person.

The only way we can be true to hating the practice and loving the person is to love God & His Word more than any person! A church that does this has not forsaken its first love or failed as some want you to believe.

On the contrary, the church has obeyed Jesus' teaching to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment.” (Matthew 22:37-38)

There is a reason this is the first and greatest commandment because it puts loving God above everything else. Living in a secular humanist society bombarded by a predominately anti-Christian media, downplays this love compared to the love of humanity.

But true love of humanity can only happen when we follow God’s Word and love Him above everything.

That is why “Love your neighbor as yourself” is a follow-up command only after we keep the first commandment. This commandment hinges on us loving God first and foremost before loving man.

It is also very, very interesting that Jesus’ Great Commission to the disciples involved discipleship, baptism, teaching, and obedience.  Jesus knew the only way to truly love is disciple the world in the teachings and obedience of the Lord.

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-19)

But sadly, in the name of love many want to ignore Jesus words, ‘teaching them to obey everything, I have commanded you’ and make the second commandment triumph over the first commandment of loving God with all our heart, mind, and soul.

In the process, Turner wants us to believe that as a church we have failed if we rally around a cause that is biblical such as supporting a follower of Christ whose been standing on God’s Word to endorse the sanctity of marriage between male and female only.

Just because my wife and I have rallied around Cathy’s company, which to us represents the values of the Kingdom that Cathy has espoused, does not mean we hate gay people. By showing support to Chick-Fil-A, we took a stand with thousands to show Cathy that there are people like him who will stand for biblical values such as the sanctity of marriage. No one I know used that day to show hatred towards gay people.

It is totally unfair for Turner to assert that thousands of Christians who rallied to Chick Fil-A on Chick Fil-A Appreciation Day don't love gay people because they went to show support for the company's values!

Turner wants you and I to believe that those who stayed silent at homes or spoke out against Chick Fil-A Appreciation Day were the ones who really love gay people. Sadly, to him the church cannot be put in that category of loving gay people because the church stood against the practices of gay people! How sad!

Showing support for Cathy who was being persecuted for his stance on biblical values does not imply hate towards the LGBT community.

I asked myself, if it does not imply hate towards the LGBT community, how do I respond to those who tell me that the LGBT community feels hated?

When a parent supports one child who is going on the right path but disapproves & speaks out against another child who is going on the wrong path does not mean the parent loves the first child and hates the second child.

If a non-parent supports a child with whom they agree but disapproves & speaks out against a child that they do not agree with, because the child is going on the wrong path, does not mean the non-parent hates the child.

Even if the second child feels hated because the parent disapproves and speaks against the child’s actions over and over again should not be a reason to say the parent or non-parent has failed to love the child or state the parent or non-parent is at fault for the child feeling hated.

In the same way, the church has a responsibility to hate the practices of the sexually immoral BUT love the people. This can only happen when we put the love of God above the love of people!

Hating the practices does not mean silence! No one should even expect followers of Christ not to hate the practices of sexual immorality  just because the sexually immoral will then feel unloved.  

A lot of times, human beings sadly equate being approved of synonymously with being loved and being disapproved of synonymously with being hated. This is the situation we are in with the LGBT community where many feel they are hated by followers of Christ because of their stance on marriage and support for people like Cathy & Chick Fil-A.

This is far from the truth because anyone who says they love God and His Word more than people will love the LGBT community too as God wants them loved. This is not by approving of their actions or staying silent when their actions are being promoted against God’s Word. But by praying for them and leading them to the Truth.

It is not up to us to fear man over God when we are moved to speak the Truth in love!

"Fear of man is a dangerous trap but to trust in God means safety!" (Proverbs 29:25)

I did not see the Christian solidarity at Chick Fil A restaurants all across the nation as hatred towards the LGBT community but love towards supporting what God stands for.

You can love the sinner and hate the sin. Because we hate the sin of gay marriage and homosexuality and want to support companies or programs that strengthen the sanctity of marriage between male and female should never be seen as hatred towards gay people.

If gay people feel hated, it is wrong for Turner to blame people like my wife, myself, and thousands who gathered to support Chick-Fil-A. It is even wrong to ridicule Pastor Mike Huckabee for promoting ‘Chick Fil-A Appreciation Day’ when the purpose was to support Cathy’s statements regarding marriage and avoid any boycott losses.

As Christians by staying silent, we would have implicitly said, “Cathy, you fend for yourself alone because we don’t want to get involved”

But when Christians take a simple stand by buying at ‘Chick Fil A’ to support biblical values, they are seen as a failure.

How sad!!!

Now imagine as a follower of Christ, you own a company like Chick Fil A’ and share your faith in Christ including your views on the sanctity of marriage just as Cathy shared. Now, you hear a firestorm of comments about how much people should boycott your company because you put God’s love above man’s love.

How would you be feeling?

Would you hope God sends support your way and strengthens you to continue to stand on God’s Word?

Would you want a sign showing what you did was not wrong?

Would you be feeling like Elijah of the Bible?

“Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him. ”But the people said nothing.  Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.” (1 Kings 18:21-22) 

How do you think you would have felt, if the anti-Christian liberal media storm of 450+ was waging war against you for supporting the values of the Kingdom?

Elijah was feeling depressed and wanted to die because he felt like he was promoting a lost cause and replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” (1 Kings 19:14)

If you were standing up for Truth, would you feel like you are all alone when those who oppose you are trying to kill you through character assassination, etc?

When I write from a biblical perspective any article and the only responses I get publicly are opposition while those who agree with me remain silent publicly without responding, I do feel that way but God strengthens me and motivates me to keep writing to influence the campuses, counties, cities, countries, and continents of the world.

Elijah did not think to himself, ‘Let me love the practices of Baal or the people will feel hated’. On the contrary, he stood up for what is right and was threatened.

God saw how troubled Elijah was to the point of death and came to his rescue reminding him that he is not the only one following God but there are others who believe in the same way too.

Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him.” (1 Kings 19:18)

Wow! God was telling Elijah that he is not alone and will have the backing of God’s people against Baal! God never reasoned, ‘But what if my prophet’s actions will not make the worshippers of Baal feel loved’. On the contrary a loving God knows love without truth is not love at all.

If Elijah saw support for his cause, he would have known he was not alone but he did not see support for the cause. However, he is encouraged by the Lord to remember there are thousands like him who have not bowed down to Baal.

Again, when I have written or spoken what I knew to be Truth from God’s Word, I have wished that I had the support of the church to stand up with me without leaving me alone to fend for myself. But, it is very rare that I do get public support for my writings so it was refreshing to see the support the church gave Cathy on Chick Fil A Appreciation day!

Is it not conceivable that God could have used followers of Christ to rally around Cathy & Chick Fil A to show Cathy a sign that he is not alone and there are like-minded people who think like him?

 "Was it wrong for followers of Christ to be zealous for the LORD and promote the sanctity of marriage by supporting Chick-Fil A with their presence and profits for Chick Fil-A appreciation day?"

If so, is it then right for Turner to promote that followers of Christ have failed by showing support to Chick Fil A’ and Cathy?

Jesus said,  "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first" (John 15:18)

Jesus continued to state, "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master. ’If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me hates my Father as well.” (John 15:19-23)

Jesus did not compartmentalize sin and love into two different categories but spoke of them concurrently.

In John 15:17, Jesus said, “This is my command: Love each other!”

Jesus did not say love each other meant ‘not addressing the practice of sin’. On the contrary, Jesus said, “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me hates my Father as well.” (John 15:22-23)

 Jesus wants us to love others even if they will hate us for speaking out and against sin. But Jesus never said this should be done in silence without standing up for the Truth of God's Word!

When there is hatred towards us or there is a sense of being hated by us because of the teachings we support and proclaim from God’s Word that should not stop us from Living the Truth and Proclaiming the Truth in love. When we do that, it is important to remember that we are not hated for our ignorance, but because we stand for Truth.

I strongly believe the LGBT community feeling hated by the church is mostly a perception put out by an anti-Christian liberal media who want to portray the church as haters.

We should not fault the church by accusing them of not having love when they showed up in mass numbers to support Chick Fil-A.

The sad fact of the matter is that the liberal media has and will continue to portray Evangelical Christians as haters. This happened in the past and will continue in the present. Let me share a personal story of my experience with the LGBT community.

When I wrote a column for the Pitt News called, “With love, homosexuality can be cured!”, it was a message of love and not hate. If anything, I was the one hated for proclaiming that message to the point that anti-Ramesh columns were being published for days. Usually letters to the editor would suffice but I had broken the record for the number of letters the Pitt News received. My colleague columnists did not want to remain silent to my biblical view and so wrote counter-columns that were anti-Ramesh in nature. Few of them were directly attacking me in the columns with phrases such as 'The Indian Fella with Da Bible....', 'Those Vangies- term to say Evangelical Christian'. But, I was willing to stand on the promises and teachings of God by standing firm and continued to proclaim Evangelical  messages in my writings. I did that for three more years until I started writing for Pittsburgh Standard.

Because of the persecution that I faced, student leaders of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship supported by their senior staff worker, decided to act. Just like Pastor Huckabee spearheaded the ‘Chick Fil A Appreciation Day’, the daughter of a pastor spearheaded ‘Homosexuality and Christianity: Is there a compromise?: Ramesh C. Reddy, Pitt News Columnist Against Homosexuality vs. Michael Mazza, Phd, Pitt News Columnist For Homosexuality!”

A panel discussion was promoted in the community in the hopes to make people see that homosexuality was wrong from a Christian perspective and a biblical perspective.

We had a dialogue discussion from both sides which was attended by 7 Pitt News Columnists, the campus and Pittsburgh community. But the success of the meeting was not in the overflow of the room’s capacity or even the dialogues BUT when the LGBT community in front of the liberal columnists declared, “We don’t agree with Ramesh on what he wrote or says, but we know he loves us, he even hugs us!”

Why would the LGBT community emphasize that at a meeting that was geared towards the support of biblical values?

It was because they did not feel hated but loved even though they were spoken out against in their acts of sexual immorality.

It is very important for me to remember if we do actions that are contrary to the Word of God but are supported in those actions by the church in the name of loving people, we actually do a disservice to those that we say we love.

When people are supported, it is very rare that people change their ways because they have the support of a community and are not at a place where they can really examine their lives in the light of Scripture. You have to fall down and sometimes hit bottom before you can get up.

But, if people are against the actions of a person or group and reveal that in love, it puts the person or community all alone but also gives them the opportunity to forsake their ways and join the new community of love that is against practices of sexual immorality. This will not always happen right way but it will happen.

Speaking from experience, I can tell you that when I was removed from a ministry position, I felt ostracized and shame because of what happened to me. That in turn did help me to change my ways with the help of the Lord and join a new community.

If the organization has thought to itself, "Regardless of Ramesh's sin we cannot remove him from ministry because he will feel hated by us", they would have kept me to my own hindrance and well being.

I still remember the words of my supervisor who told me, "I don't care if the ministry goes under but we are not going to let you lead it because you are more important to us than the ministry. We need you to have a course of change in your life that should involve consistently being part of a Bible believing church, being part of a community, and being mentored by a pastor. All these things have not happened. We believe the sin of pride wanting your own way  is also a result of that! So we have to dismiss you!"

Now imagine if I was supported by them, even in my sin, in the name of love, what would have happened?

I would have been where I was! The Chick Fil-A rally could be seen as an implicit way of telling the LGBT community that their actions are not approved when seen in the Light of Truth for their own good.

The church of the Corinthians was faced with addressing a sexual immorality situation  but the congregation was proud without grief. They let it go on and were implicitly supportive of a particular sexual immorality in the same way many churches allow the practice of homosexuality to be condoned by ordaining gay bishops, etc.

The Lord was not happy about it and addressed how that situation should be dealt with in the hopes of restoring the man in the future but also to make a point on how a church should react to sin.

"It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this?... I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present,  hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature  may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord." (1 Corinthians 5:1-5)

This passage is to make the point that a supportive environment for sin is not the answer when it can only make them go deeper. The Lord did not say, 'if you put this man out of your fellowship, he will be hated and won't come back!'

On the contrary, the Lord said, 'Hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature  may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord." (1 Corinthians 5:5)

Would you say the Corinthian church would have failed for standing up against sexual immorality because the actions would have seemed harsh to the man?

You cannot conclude anything else if you agree with Turner on why the church failed when they supported Chick Fil-A Appreciation Day!

Failure should not be seen through man's eyes but what God's eyes say about success His way!

I never stopped Living the Truth or Proclaiming the Truth fearing the LGBT community would feel hated because I knew in time, they would come to know that they are loved.

Don't be influenced by liberal media publications that portray the LGBT community as victims and the church as the victimizers.

What reason should I or any follower of Christ have to promote the sanctity of marriage especially if we are labeled as ‘gay haters’, ‘ignorant’, and ‘church failures’ but we do it because of our love for Christ and His Word!

For argument sake, let us assume that the LGBT community feels hated by the church because of the support Chick Fil-A got for standing up for biblical values.

Do we stop Living the Truth and Proclaiming the Truth in love because we want to love people more than God?

Of course not!

What would Turner and those who support Turner think about this analogy:

It would be like a son from a prestigious Hindu family who had decided to give His life to Christ when Christ revealed Himself as, “I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life! No man comes to the Father except through me!” (John 14:6)

Because of Christ’s teachings on man, God, sin, redemption, and eternal life that is offered at the cross where Christ’s precious blood was shed for the remission of sin, the son becomes a follower of Christ.

The son does not hate his father or mother but the parents feel hated because the son tells them they are wrong. Not only that but they feel hated thinking how can their son who they raised in love renounce Hinduism.  Because he renounced Hinduism for the Absolute Truth in Christ, the parents feel hated.

Because the parents feel hated, the son thinks he needs to make his parents feel loved by him and knows there is only one course of action which is to renounce Christ and revert back to Hinduism for the sake of his parents feeling loved.

The son decides to love his mother and father more than the God He came to believe in and support for the sake of them feeling loved.

Do you believe the son did the right thing in renouncing his faith in Christ and the teachings of Christ so that his parents don't feel hated by him?

Followers of Christ would say the son was definitely wrong in renouncing Christ for his parent's sake!

Yet, it is so sad when it comes to myself, my wife, and thousands of followers of Christ, who supported Chick Fil A Appreciation Day as a support for what Cathy stood for regarding biblical values, we are being condemned and labeled a collective failure for not renouncing our support for that day.

The church remaining silent should not be the answer so the LGBT community does not feel hated. Neither was the son renouncing his faith in Christ the answer so his parents would not feel hated.

The son should have continued to be a follower of Christ expressing the love of Christ to his parents even though they felt hurt and hated by him for converting to Christianity. The church should continue to support Chick Fil-A for the values of the Kingdom that it espouses and at the same time show deep love for the LGBT community God’s way!

One day the LGBT community will come to realize again that they are not hated by followers of Christ but loved and prayed for. Supporting Christ does not mean we hate the LGBT community. We can love them both. We can hate the practice of sin and love the sinner as we love God more than anyone else.

Cathy never prayed for the condemnation of gay people or those who support gay marriage but prayed for God’s mercy on a generation that thinks they know better than God. There is nothing wrong with that.

He even issued a statement once saying, “In recent weeks, we have been accused of being anti-gay. We have no agenda against anyone. At the heart and soul of our company, we are a family business that serves and values all people regardless of their beliefs or opinions. While my family and I believe in the Biblical definition of marriage, we love and respect anyone who disagrees. At Chick-Fil-A, we have a heart for helping marriages because we know marriage can be difficult at times.”

It is those that love others who pray for God’s mercy instead of God’s judgment.

My wife and I are proud to have supported Chick-Fil A company’s Christ centered message by giving our business to them on ‘Chick Fil A Appreciation Day’ and other days because of the company’s Christ centered beliefs especially when it comes to the sanctity of marriage. We were not going to sit idle at home!

 As the church we need to ask ourselves whether we will succumb to the label of failure for supporting a biblical cause or will we stand our ground in continuing our message of support for the biblical cause?

It is my hope that our understanding of love is not corrupted by the world’s values and we will not lean on to our own understanding but claim and hold on to God’s promise when He says, ”Trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding! In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths and crown your efforts with success!” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Reddy’s Rhetoric takes you into the world of the church examining whether the church failed while it supported Chick Fil-A Appreciation Day! We highly think not! What do you think after reading the rebuttal to Matthew Turner's column?

Express Your View

 

 

 

Related Articles:

“Bible Believing Christians Cannot Support Same-Sex Marriage Message Expressing Equality!  By Ramesh C. Reddy (August 02, 12, 10:59 p.m.)

"Mayor Menino's Menacing Comments Claim Chick-Fil-A's Cathy Corrupted! By Ramesh C. Reddy (July 27, 12, 3:17 p.m.)

"Chick fil-A's Christian Roots Render People's Persecutions!" (March 05, 11, 8:23 p.m.) By Ramesh C. Reddy

Reddy's Right Rhetoric:

Rebuttal to Sandeep Thomas' Letter to the Editor:
“Obama Overtly Utilizing U.S. Constitution Crumbles Comparatively Concerning Christ's Commands
! By Ramesh C. Reddy (July 19, 2012, 12:43 p.m.)

Obama Offered Evangelical Entitlement Wrongly With Birdsall’s Blessing! By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 25, 12, 10:02 a.m.)

"Rainbow's Registered Trademark Trampled Promoting PrideFest’s Parade Promiscuously! By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 14, 12, 11:51 a.m.)

“Purge PPACA's Baby Body Deaths Outlawing Obama's Order!” By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 29, 12, 7:19 p.m.)

“Bible Believing Organizations Opposing Obama, Ok!" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 23, 12, 11:45 a.m.)

“Obama's Opinion Of Marriage Menaces Candidly Character!  (May 14, 12, 3:54 p.m.) By Ramesh C. Reddy

 

 
   
 

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