.
The gay rights groups then proclaimed that they were boycotting Chick-Fil-A based on that statement and their history of funding groups who oppose gay marriage.
You know, gay rights groups have been boycotting CFA informally for many years. All that actually happened was a public reaffimation of that fact.
Personally, I don't measure a movements success or failure on sales figures. I measure it by more abstract measures. What yesterday (and where I live today as well) did was, inadvertently, show the dirty underbelly of a great many of CFA's supporters.
Stories like
this are
not the only ones I have read to today,
This will take time, but what this event has done is strip back the true face of a lot of people. I strongly believe that the scales of the universe tip towards justice.
You see here's what occurred:
1. Christians who went to support biblical values, unless they ordered only salads, went and loaded up on sandwiches that contain 26 grams of fat and slaw with 31 grams. That's a pretty clear case of gluttony. God hates that (Proverbs).
2. Christians who went to support biblical values forgot that just last year, when Cathy was confronted about his support of anti-gay organizations and stand on gay marriage he said, "no agenda against anyone," and that the company would not "champion any political agendas" relating to marriages or families. Yet that is precisely what they do. So, these Christians, as I said all along they would do, went to support "traditional values" but could only do so at the expense of support of the 9th Commandment. Proverbs also says that God hates lying and that lying lips are an abomination to the Lord.
3. I promise you not a single person shared or is likely to have shared the Gospel with a gay person within recent days. They can't be bothered to bone up on Exodus International's own statement that homosexuality isn't a choice, so why should we expect them to do basic evangelism without going on a rant?
"Lord, Lord, did we not stand in line and support traditional values on August 1 in your name? And He will say to them, "Did I not tell you that I hate gluttony and lying? Did I not tell you to share the Gospel with all nations and all people? You loaded up with tasty, but fatty food in my name, but you did not stand up for me at all. All you did was fill your belly. Depart from me,you evildoers, I never knew you."
The Bible says we're to count the cost of discipleship. It cost these people NOTHING in those terms to patronize CFA. That is far more hurtful to their cause than any boycott. I don't call that successful at all.
That's what will become of August 1 for many of these people.
3. Those who went to support free speech aren't exactly consistent either. You see, while this is going on around us, the National Organization for Marriage is boycotting Starbucks and General Mills. Now, Huckabee, a few days ago finally got around to speaking against that. I noticed that the conservative media kinda downplayed that too. Let's be real, there are no lines around the corner at Starbucks to support their free speech and there's not a run on General Mills products at grocery stores right now. I'd point that out to the people going on about "Free Speech" and not investigating this too. Remind them of the boycott of NOM vs. Starbucks and tell them that if they really believe that, then they need to go "appreciate" Starbucks too. When they do, then they can get back to us. But most won't do that, so really, they aren't supporting free speech until they form a line at Starbucks. Right now, they're supporting one side's free speech at the expense of the other.
No, in the long run what has happened is this: Hypocrisy and in many cases outright hatred has been exposed. That is far more successful than a kiss-in or a boycott. I also know that there is a movement right now among many gays and their supporters to go grocery shopping in the coming days and give to the food banks and, when they do, they are going to tell them - and some will be going to churches - that they are gay and that they know that the CFA supporters did not do this. No, the CFA supporters went to gorge themselves while the hungry were unattended. That will leave an indelible impression on many people. What is going to happen now is a very quiet, very private result that will wind up showing that August 1 may have raised some sales and filled some bellies, but did nothing at all more than that. It just made bigotry, ignorance, and cowardice public - which of those and in what proportions varies with each person. Those are things that have long term consequences that take awhile to creep up, but I assure you they will.
