In light of the horrific massacre in Orlando in which 49 souls lost their lives because of a terrorist’s shooting spree at a gay night club, my heart is grieved and troubled. Even as a young conservative, I notice how quickly our world, politicians and activists on both sides of the aisle attempt to divide us, incite hate for political gain, exploit a troubling, complex situation and yell their points across party lines. It’s sad, really. But not nearly as sad as the loss of 49 lives in the Orlando LGBT community.
As a Christian and sincere believer and follower of Christ who loves and cherishes the Bible and believes its words to be true, what should my response be? I mean, yes, I believe in God-ordained traditional marriage between a man and a woman, but does that mean I hate those who don’t and tell them they got what was coming to them (as I have regrettably seen in few hateful responses)? Absolutely not — that kind of mindset is straight from the pit of hell. Should I then condemn all Muslims because of the Radical Islamic terrorists who pledge allegiance to ISIS and brutally kill gays, Christians, Jews and non-believers around the globe? No. While we cannot dismiss the very real threats our country is facing, we can never resort to hate. This is not the way of Christ, nor is it a time to be silent about the horrible injustice that occurred in Orlando last weekend. It is not a time for pointing fingers or pushing an agenda, and it is definitely not a time for preaching or yelling about right and wrong when it comes to sexuality. This is a time to love and weep. This is a time for compassion. Whatever our beliefs about sexuality, silence is not an option when abuse or injustice is perpetrated. As Dr. King once said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Christians, think with me. The more conservative we are in the belief that every word of the Bible is true and good, the more liberal we should actually be in the ways that we love. After all, Jesus summed up all the commandments with a call to love God with all our hearts and to love others as we love ourselves (Mark 12:30-31). I believe Jesus’ true disciples will take initiative to love, listen to and serve those who do not share their beliefs. When evil rears its ugly head or in times of deep need or sorrow, Christians of all people should be the ones serving, listening, praying and mourning with those who mourn, and loving our neighbor as ourselves without condemnation in Jesus’s name.
There’s one unexpected example of a loving response out of this tragedy. We are hearing of many more, but as a former employee of Chick-Fil-A, this one caught my attention. I know that Chick-Fil-A is a company of principle, excellence and great customer service. I also know that they are unwavering in their “Closed Sundays” policy so employees can worship freely and have a day of rest. On the Sunday after the Orlando massacre, however, the day that Chick Fil-A is always closed, they decided instead to go into work, brew fresh tea and prepare hundreds of chicken sandwiches. They handed them out free of charge to people who were donating blood for the shooting victims and for families and authorities at the scene. Keep in mind this is the same company who was in the news years back and were boycotted by a gay activist because of its President/CEO Dan Cathy’s biblical beliefs and Judeo-Christian marriage view. The story you didn’t hear much about, however, is that that Mr. Cathy reached out and ended up becoming good friends with that same gay activist who initiated the boycott. This is awesome. This is the way to relate well with dignity and respect. You can read the full Huffington Post story from the perspective of gay activist Shane Windemeyer here.
Chick-Fil-A’s response to Orlando in a small way mirrors what Christ has done for us: He reached out, moved toward, and even loved those who didn’t necessarily love back or understand his intentions. He definitely wasn’t out to win any cultural wars. He welcomed sinners of every kind — religious sinners and pagan sinners, sexual sinners and pious sinners, outcasts and holier-than-thou sinners — he ate with them all. He took a lot of criticism for it from prideful religious leaders, but he didn’t seem to care what they thought. Jesus did a lot of things that force us to think and keep us off our high horse.
He chose 12 ordinary, uneducated fisherman to be his first disciples; he touched and healed the untouchable lepers in his day — in one account healing 10 even though only one would say thank you; he made a Samaritan the hero of a story in a world where Jews hated Samaritans and Samaritans hated Jews; he commended Rahab for hiding Israel’s spies even though she was still a prostitute; he conversed meaningfully and mercifully with an adulteress without condemnation, but left her with a message to go and sin no more; he welcomed the wounded and the weary, the children and the aged; he ate with sinners and tax collectors and was accused of being a glutton and drunk. He even loved those who would betray and deny him.
He came with a message of salvation and repentance, but his kindness led people there. Not bullying. Not putting others in their place. Not taking a firm “moral stand” for the sake of being right. Truth spoken in love. A perfect balance. THE perfect balance.
So is it possible to be conservative and liberal at the same time? Is it possible to profoundly disagree with someone and still love them liberally? To maintain deep convictions yet liberally embrace people who reject ours? To respectfully disagree with each other but still weep liberally with each other in times of great loss?
We have a lot of work to do, Church, but yes. In Jesus’ name, yes, it is possible.
"In your hearts honor Christ as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame" (1 Peter 3:15-16).
