Chick-fil-A, eh?

I know that I'm Canadian and therefore somewhat distanced from the whole Chick-fil-A debacle, but if I may ask: when did Christianity stop being about loving God and loving your neighbour (as per Jesus' words), and start being about supporting companies that actively support discrimination and fear-mongering? That kind of breaks my heart.

Maybe it's speaking out of turn, but I also think it breaks God's heart. One of the best tricks that evil has is to get us focused on the wrong thing, and this is a prime example. Instead of leaving God to judge (as we're supposed to), people try to take on the role and it just ends up messy and distracting. Instead of bringing people together, it draws lines in the sand and breeds hatred and bitterness. Why not focus on something more positive like, say, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, and visiting the lonely? You know - the kinds of things Jesus did while He walked on this planet ...

I feel that the capital-'C'-Church's energies could be spent on much more positive and helpful things that actually emulate Jesus Christ's example. He was pretty clear about what He wanted of His followers (called, ahem, Christians):
- Matthew 7:1-5 [do not judge]
- Matthew 21:28-32 [tax collectors and prostitutes who believe will enter the kingdom of heaven before the church leaders who do not believe or did not follow His word]
- Matthew 22: 35-40 ['Love the Lord your God ... Love your neighbout as yourself ...' - notice that He didn't say "except the prostitutes and homosexuals", who did exist in His day too]
- Matthew 25: 34-40 [What you do to 'to one of these brothers', you do to God - feed the hungry, invite the stranger in, clothe the naked, visit the sick, go to the prisoner]
- Luke 6: 27-37 [love your enemies while expecting nothing in return, be merciful, do not judge, and do not condemn]
- Luke 10: 25-28 [love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Love your neighbour as yourself - it warrants repeating]
- Luke 30-37 [The parable of the Good Samaritan who cares for the hurt Jew, at enormous personal cost to himself. Keep in mind that Samaritans were considered the lowest of the low in Jesus' day - righteous Jews wouldn't even talk to them, avoiding them at all costs. Sound familiar?]
- Luke 12: 33-34 [Sell your possessions and give to charity]
- John 8: 1-11 [The story of the adulterous woman who was to be stoned. Jesus said to let whoever was completely devoid of sin cast the first stone - no one could claim perfection; and Jesus said to the woman "I do not condemn you, either."]
- John 8: 31-32 [He tells His disciples to continue in His word]
- John 13: 12-15 [Jesus says He set an example, and tells His disciples to follow it]
- John 15: 12-17 [Jesus commands His disciples to love]

Those are just some examples. The over-arching story of Jesus is His gospel of love. Love. It's a big word that demands hard work and, often, sacrifice. I do not claim to be perfect at any of this - I sin as much as the next guy. But sin is sin is sin. There aren't "okay sins" and "bad sins", there's just sin. So my job is to do my best at getting to know Christ, and trying to be like Him. If He said love, I'll take that at face value. I will try my hardest to love.

I hope others will do the same.