www.sandraevertson.com
10 years ago
Posted by
Victoria
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I have to admit, there are times when I am a confused Christian. You would think that I wouldn't be, seeing as how I was born and raised in a Christian family. I have gone to church my whole life. I attended Christian school. I have taught Sunday School to children, memorized countless scriptures with the children at AWANA and GA's. I do devotions with my children every night and teach them all I know about Christ and his ultimate sacrifice and the precious gift of salvation that He gave them. I have participated in Bible studies and read my Bible. I should be crystal clear on everything, but Christianity is a journey, a process. The actual moment of salvation is crystal clear, the minute I realized I needed Christ and I wanted Christ and I chose to follow Him forever, that is crystal clear, no doubts, no confusion, but then came life and people, saved people, Christian people, unsaved people, lost people, decisions, trials, peaks, valleys, and this is when things begin to muddle and can sometimes bring confusion, and this is where Satan begins to get a grip, he loves our confusion.
Confusion this week came for me in the form of a chicken sandwich. I have to admit, I am completely out of the loop on anything political. I don't watch politics, I don't listen to political speakers, I don't watch CNN or MSNBC. I can tell you who the important players are politically, but don't always know what is going on behind the scenes. I try to research who I vote for and who the candidates are before I vote, but once the winners are in office and the losers are forgotten, I no longer keep up with what is going on. I don't trust any of them, I believe voting for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil. I pray for our leaders, whether I agree with them or not, I don't speak bad of them because I believe they are all there for a reason and out of respect should not be ridiculed and disrespected. I haven't had to do their job, I haven't had to shoulder their responsibility and I am not there when they are alone and making decisions, so I stay out of it and trust that God is still in control and this too will pass.
This is what led to my confusion about my chicken sandwich, I don't see much media, I don't watch TV so until I saw Facebook posts going crazy about the Chik-Fil-A issue, I had no idea what it was even about. One post saying this and another post claiming that one to be a lie, Christian people divided on the issue, non Christian people divided on the issue, articles copied and posted that were later proven false, photos photoshopped to be deceiving. confusion! How did this get so crazy? I mean didn't everyone know what his beliefs were already? It isn't like he has hidden them. Is it so far fetched that a conservative Christian man who publically states that his business is founded on conservative Christian principles would state that he gave to conservative Christian causes...and did anyone not know that he would be against gay marriage? I didn't quite get the uproar, but I did get confused because now if I eat at Chik-Fil-A am I sending a message of hate? If I don't eat at Chik-Fil-A am I a bad Christian? Am I supporting hate groups? What groups are the money going to that are hateful? and who determined they were hate groups? I saw an article that listed Fellowship of Christian Athletes as one of the hate groups, I personally know people who are involved in this ministry and they are a sweet, loving, kind family. I can't imagine them hating anyone, they have a heart for Christ and a love for those who are lost and they would never be a part of a hate group. I was confused, yes it is a conservative Christian group with conservative Christian values...but a hate group? When did disagreeing with someone's choices or ideas automatically equal hating them? I have friends on both sides of the issue. Friends, people I care about, people I spend time with, people I love, people I maybe don't agree with, but people I love nontheless. How can anyone be witnessed to or see God's love or come to know the Saviour if we never speak or have anything to do with the people we disagree with? Isn't that exactly what Satan would love, for us to be ineffective at witnessing because we start to think we have to agree with someone in order to befriend them or we can't associate with that person because they must hate us since they have a different belief than me? Satan wins when we get muddled and confused.
Here is where my clarity came in. If I take everything else out of the equation. If I just go back to how I felt a week ago before I started getting sucked into the photos and the blogs and the media mess. If I just really block out Satan's attempts at confusion and focus on what I believe, here is what it comes down to for me ( not anyone else and I promise you don't have to agree with me and that is o.k.) I like Chik-Fil-A. I like them because when I go in the workers are always smiling. I like them because they are always helpful. I like them because my children love their cow and going to Daddy Daughter Date nights where the restaurant is decorated and candle lit and it makes them feel special. I like them because they donate huge amounts of time, money and food to people and to the local communities they are a part of. I like them because they have the best peach milk shakes in the summer and the best chocolate cherry mint ones in the winter. I like them because they also support children, poor families and they own and operate foster homes and give to lots of great causes that seem to get overlooked in the media. I don't eat there to make a statement, I don't eat there to hurt anyone, I simply eat there because I like to, just like I eat at a million other places that maybe support things I don't believe in or agree with, just like I buy products or shop at stores that have differing opinions than me on all kinds of issues. I eat there because I believe that a person that owns a company has the right to support what they choose with their money whether I agree with it or not.
So next time you see me buying Oreos or eating at Olive Garden or buying my daughter a backpack at JC Penney please don't think bad of me as a Christian because I am not trying to make a statement or question my beliefs and if you see me eating at Chik-Fil-A or buying craft supplies at Hobby Lobby please don't think I am trying to hurt you or send a statement that I hate you, I simply like their product. I know what I believe and people who know me know what I believe, and people who just meet me figure it out pretty quickly I am sure. I understand if you don't want to patronize a company you don't agree with and that is o.k., but for me I just don't have the energy to trace every dollar every company spends on a cause and then determine if I support it. I give more to people I support and less to people I don't but in the end, I just can't research every product and every cause. It is way too confusing :)
Confusion this week came for me in the form of a chicken sandwich. I have to admit, I am completely out of the loop on anything political. I don't watch politics, I don't listen to political speakers, I don't watch CNN or MSNBC. I can tell you who the important players are politically, but don't always know what is going on behind the scenes. I try to research who I vote for and who the candidates are before I vote, but once the winners are in office and the losers are forgotten, I no longer keep up with what is going on. I don't trust any of them, I believe voting for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil. I pray for our leaders, whether I agree with them or not, I don't speak bad of them because I believe they are all there for a reason and out of respect should not be ridiculed and disrespected. I haven't had to do their job, I haven't had to shoulder their responsibility and I am not there when they are alone and making decisions, so I stay out of it and trust that God is still in control and this too will pass.
This is what led to my confusion about my chicken sandwich, I don't see much media, I don't watch TV so until I saw Facebook posts going crazy about the Chik-Fil-A issue, I had no idea what it was even about. One post saying this and another post claiming that one to be a lie, Christian people divided on the issue, non Christian people divided on the issue, articles copied and posted that were later proven false, photos photoshopped to be deceiving. confusion! How did this get so crazy? I mean didn't everyone know what his beliefs were already? It isn't like he has hidden them. Is it so far fetched that a conservative Christian man who publically states that his business is founded on conservative Christian principles would state that he gave to conservative Christian causes...and did anyone not know that he would be against gay marriage? I didn't quite get the uproar, but I did get confused because now if I eat at Chik-Fil-A am I sending a message of hate? If I don't eat at Chik-Fil-A am I a bad Christian? Am I supporting hate groups? What groups are the money going to that are hateful? and who determined they were hate groups? I saw an article that listed Fellowship of Christian Athletes as one of the hate groups, I personally know people who are involved in this ministry and they are a sweet, loving, kind family. I can't imagine them hating anyone, they have a heart for Christ and a love for those who are lost and they would never be a part of a hate group. I was confused, yes it is a conservative Christian group with conservative Christian values...but a hate group? When did disagreeing with someone's choices or ideas automatically equal hating them? I have friends on both sides of the issue. Friends, people I care about, people I spend time with, people I love, people I maybe don't agree with, but people I love nontheless. How can anyone be witnessed to or see God's love or come to know the Saviour if we never speak or have anything to do with the people we disagree with? Isn't that exactly what Satan would love, for us to be ineffective at witnessing because we start to think we have to agree with someone in order to befriend them or we can't associate with that person because they must hate us since they have a different belief than me? Satan wins when we get muddled and confused.
Here is where my clarity came in. If I take everything else out of the equation. If I just go back to how I felt a week ago before I started getting sucked into the photos and the blogs and the media mess. If I just really block out Satan's attempts at confusion and focus on what I believe, here is what it comes down to for me ( not anyone else and I promise you don't have to agree with me and that is o.k.) I like Chik-Fil-A. I like them because when I go in the workers are always smiling. I like them because they are always helpful. I like them because my children love their cow and going to Daddy Daughter Date nights where the restaurant is decorated and candle lit and it makes them feel special. I like them because they donate huge amounts of time, money and food to people and to the local communities they are a part of. I like them because they have the best peach milk shakes in the summer and the best chocolate cherry mint ones in the winter. I like them because they also support children, poor families and they own and operate foster homes and give to lots of great causes that seem to get overlooked in the media. I don't eat there to make a statement, I don't eat there to hurt anyone, I simply eat there because I like to, just like I eat at a million other places that maybe support things I don't believe in or agree with, just like I buy products or shop at stores that have differing opinions than me on all kinds of issues. I eat there because I believe that a person that owns a company has the right to support what they choose with their money whether I agree with it or not.
So next time you see me buying Oreos or eating at Olive Garden or buying my daughter a backpack at JC Penney please don't think bad of me as a Christian because I am not trying to make a statement or question my beliefs and if you see me eating at Chik-Fil-A or buying craft supplies at Hobby Lobby please don't think I am trying to hurt you or send a statement that I hate you, I simply like their product. I know what I believe and people who know me know what I believe, and people who just meet me figure it out pretty quickly I am sure. I understand if you don't want to patronize a company you don't agree with and that is o.k., but for me I just don't have the energy to trace every dollar every company spends on a cause and then determine if I support it. I give more to people I support and less to people I don't but in the end, I just can't research every product and every cause. It is way too confusing :)
"Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone's lifestyle, you must fear them or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense." - Rick Warren. How true this statement is, this was the best Facebook quote I saw this week. Satan, the Father of lies, relishes our confusion, he loves it, he basks in it. He wants us to be confused because as long as we are in a state of confusion and as long as we are disagreeing and as long as we are fighting each other then we are exactly where he wants us, confused, divided, questioning and useless for God's kingdom.
For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. 1 Corinthians 14:33
