Fried chicken will not save your marriage

So, I'm back (for now). Only one topic could bring me out of retirement: Chick-Fil-A.

I am SO SICK of hearing about Chick-Fil-A, especially on Facebook.  I hate political and religious posts on Facebook. I've kept quiet, because I don't want to get into the fray of it. Just because you logged in to check your notifications doesn't mean you signed up to hear my political beliefs. But, this is MY blog and no one made you come here, so I am going to speak my mind here and now. These are my opinions:

LAY OFF, CHRISTIANS.  The biggest threat to "traditional marriage" is divorce, not the gay community. If you value "traditional marriage," don't get divorced. Spend some quality time with your spouse. Spend more time focusing on YOUR OWN RELATIONSHIP and quit worrying about what everyone else is doing. Ultimately, you are only responsible for your own marriage.  That should be your focus/priority. And guess what? Chick-Fil-A will not divorce-proof your marriage. So, I don't really know what you were trying to accomplish at Chick-Fil-A yesterday. How about we make August 2nd National "Spend Quality Time With Your Spouse" Day? Furthermore, if you don't support same sex-marriage, don't marry someone of the same sex. Don't attend a same sex wedding if you are invited to one. Those are my suggestions for "living out your beliefs." Don't try to legislate your personal beliefs on others (more on this later).

At this point I should probably state that I am a Christian, that I like Chick-Fil-A's food, and that I support the legalization of gay marriage (or civil unions - to me, that is only a semantic detail).  Maybe those things all sound like contradictions, but they are who I am. I believe in Christianity because I think it is true; I like Chick-Fil-A's food because it tastes good; and I support marriage equality because it is the fair thing to do.

The main argument that Christians bring up against gay marriage is that its "wrong."  Here's the thing, even IF it is morally or spiritually wrong, (which I'm not saying it is), it doesn't mean that laws should be passed against it. Our marriage laws are NOT based on the biblical concept of marriage. Heterosexuals are allowed to get divorced and remarried multiple times.  Not biblical. So, why is everyone getting their panties in a wad about "biblical marriage" when it comes to gay people? That is very hypocritical.

Secondly, we can not be so prideful as to think we have the right to impose Christian beliefs on non-Christian people in the form of legislation. Imagine an America in which the Jewish community had successfully lobbied to outlaw bacon, because they believe eating bacon is wrong or unclean. Imagine an America in which the Mormons had successfully outlawed soda. You can't even imagine it, because it is so ridiculous. Yet, that is exactly what Christians are trying to do when it comes to gay marriage.

I understand if Christian churches do not want to perform gay marriage ceremonies. I'm perfectly okay with that.  I don't think that the government should force churches to perform gay marriages. However,  why shouldn't gay people be allowed to go to the courthouse or the Marriott and get married just the way non-Christian heterosexual couples do? To Christians, marriage is a religious institution, even a sacrament to some. But that is not the way everyone views marriage. Not everyone gets married for religious reasons or spiritual purposes. We do not discriminate against heterosexual people who have non-religious marriages, so why should we discriminate against gay people who wish to be married? 

There are gay Christians, and there are some branches of Christian churches who perform gay marriages. I'm okay with that, too. I am not gay, so I will never have to worry about being in a same sex marriage. And I am not a pastor or justice of the peace, so I will never have to contemplate which marriages I will and will not officiate. The bottom line is that each individual has to answer to his own conscience for his choices, and to the call of God on his individual life. All of these choices are between the individual and God. We all should be worried about the planks in our own eyes, instead of trying to pass laws against the speck in our brother's eye (if indeed, it even is a speck). America is based on individual freedoms, and surprisingly, Christianity is too. God gave humans free will.  We have to at least try to respect other people's freedom of choice.

If your conscience calls you to eat (or not eat) Chick-Fil-A, do whatever you feel is best.  But, just remember that everyone else is trying to do their best as well.  I personally feel that if you are waiting to find a grocery store, restaurant, or insurance company that holds all your same political and religious beliefs, you will never be able to shop anywhere. If you eat CFA to support it, you will have to boycott Cheerios (who supports gay marriage). Or, you can eat Oreos and Cheerios but not CFA.  It's like tumbling down a never-ending rabbit hole.  That's too much for me. I treat people with kindness and try (though it's really hard) to mind my own business. That's the best I can do. A little less hatred and a little more humility and compassion will go a long way towards healing all kinds of social issues, including the rift between conservative Christians and the gay community.