No Mor Chikin

This poor guy has no clue what he's caused.

If you've been on the internet, watched TV, or live anywhere within a 150 mile radius of The-Chicken-Chain-That-Must-Not-Be-Named, you're probably aware of what has been going on the last couple of weeks.

And if you're wondering what I could possibly have to say about KFC, you need to get out more. 

Of course, if you're anything like me, the moment you heard Dan Cathy's words a few weeks ago, you probably stuck your fingers in your ears, closed your eyes, and have been singing an obnoxious "La la la! I can't hear you," hoping to drown out the incessant opinions, cliche rhetoric, and ridiculous Facebook posts about this ever-controversial topic.

It's like we're children wandering in an abandoned war zone. Our parents warn us to be careful, but when we see a landmine, we can't help ourselves. Knowing full well what it will do, we decide to test it by throwing rocks and act surprised when we all get hurt.

Haven't we learned to avoid the pain that comes along with taking sides?

Meanwhile, if you're in any part of the world other than the USA, you're probably thinking to yourself, "What does all of this have to do with the Olympics?" You and me both, my friend.

Needless to say, we all know what's going on with Chick-Fil-A, and we're all tired of hearing about it. I think there's a bigger lesson to be learned here, though, and that lesson has absolutely nothing to do with chicken, marriage, or the so-called Christian foundation of our rather confused country.

Instead of discussing, debating, and dissecting the last few weeks to death, maybe we should all take a step back. Maybe we all need to stop talking, take a deep breath, and think for a moment.

We need to remember a couple of things:

First of all, there is no "us" or "them." We're all people. We're all affected in someway by lesbians, gays, bisexuals, or transexuals and their right (or non-right) to marry. We've all been burned in this unnecessary battle of harsh words and unfair criticism.

And while the opinion of one man won't matter at the end of it all, we still feel the need to fight. To take sides. Because something bigger is at stake. Whether we're for or against whatever our respective belief system stands for, we know (or at least think) we're supposed to take a stand. And in most cases, there's no problem with this. However...

The real problem runs deeper. There's an innate brokenness within all of us, and the pain of our imperfection rears its ugly head at times like this, masking itself as "virtue" and "justice." In reality, it's the insecurity of our souls that prompts us to fight so valiantly in these cyclical clashes of culture that rear their heads every few months.

What, then, should we make of this mess? We could continue on as we are, and follow the guidance of our own ambitions and desires. Clearly, this has gotten us so far.

Or we can choose to change our course and follow something or someone higher - a morality that has a better perspective and can see the bigger picture.

Oh how quickly we have forgotten these beautiful, revolutionary words that should decorate every breath of our lives:

Do not repay evil for evil. Instead, respect what is right in the sight of all men. You've heard that you should take an eye for an eye, because you're free to defend yourself. Don't. Turn the other cheek and give a blessing instead. Always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God, loving him fully and loving others as you love yourself.

These are words from Scripture that few of us would argue with, regardless of what "side" we're on.

But on the off chance that you could care less about the Bible, allow me to share a story with you from Aesop's Fables, a perennial choice for the moral education of young and old alike.

"The Doe and the Lion"

A Doe hard pressed by hunters sought refuge in a cave belonging to a Lion. The Lion concealed himself on seeing her approach, but when she was safe within the cave, sprang upon her and tore her to pieces. "Woe is me," exclaimed the Doe, "to have escaped from man, only to throw myself into the mouth of a wild beast?"

The point of this obscure story?

"In avoiding one evil, care must be taken not to fall into another."

Friends, let's stop throwing rocks at landmines. 

Let's escape the war zone, declare a truce, and take a step forward instead of constantly running back to the safety of our beloved "positions" and "beliefs." 

Instead of pressing Pause and returning to this war again in a few months, let's press Stop and eject this tape. We're so over watching this play out for the thousandth time, because the end never changes.

Let's agree to disagree, but let's also agree that we're better than this (or at least we should be).

And for the love of all things good, let's forget about eating Mor Chikin and get on with watching Mor Olympics!