Is Eating Waffle Fries a Moral Statement?

I joined the thousands Wednesday who ate at Chick-fil-A.  There were long lines everywhere.  As I watched the very busy employees rush around, I wondered if they felt "appreciated" since this was a day not chosen by them to be appreciated for the company's CEO's comments in support of traditional marriage.  From the smiling faces of those who waited on me, it seemed like they were doing their job as usual. 

To be honest, eating at Chick-fil-A is a Wednesday evening family tradition so it was not that much of taking a stand for me either.  I did purposely go that day just to see what it was like.  I enjoyed my food as usual.  Seriously, how difficult is it to eat a grilled chicken sandwich and split some waffle fries?  That is not a sacrifice even if you have to wait an extra ten minutes.  

I wondered how many of us would have been there if it had been a sacrifice?  That statistics I read this week show that support for same sex marriage is growing.  Fifty percent of Americans support same sex marriage while 48% oppose.  Of those Americans who attend church, 28% support gay marriage and 72% oppose.  In both areas, in church and out, support is growing.

I am amazed at how much things have changed in this area in this past year.  What I am beginning to see is that there is a growing difference between people of the world and people of the Word.  I always want to be counted in the people of the Word category, waffle fries or not.  I also wondered how many of the people at Chick-fil-A on Wednesday would be in church on Sunday?

Sunday I will be preaching on the story of Jesus teaching in his home town of Nazareth.  He took a stand that day and it was not popular with the good people gathered in the synagogue with him.  That day, good moral people who surely would have joined us at Chick-fil-A if they had lived in our day, wanted to throw Jesus off a cliff. 

Maybe we are learning what it means not to be a person of the world.  I think we still have a way to go before we are truly people of the Word.  I pray we are on our way though. 

For the journey...

Tim