Was This Steak Grown on a Red Farm or a Blue Farm?

Ok, so I'm gonna take a quick steal of topic from Stephen Colbert (who I find VERY humorous, btw) and talk about something that has irritated me for the longest time: Company Support of Political Issues.
So, the latest news is that Chick-Fil-A came out (no pun intended) with their stance on gay marriage: they don't support it. Wait for it...wait for it...wait for iiiiiiiiiiiiit...ah, there's the press complaining left and right about it. Good to know that's still working.

Ok, this is NOT going to be a rant about gay marriage. I don't care either way right now what you believe about homosexuality, gay marriage, or Santa Claus! The point is, what does Chick-Fil-A sell? Bibles? Kid's toys? No. Food. FOOD. Stuff you EAT!!! So what does it matter what they support or what their stance is on political issues?

"But I don't want my money going to support organizations I don't agree with! I have a responsibility to Christ to honor things that represent Him! What I do with my money reflects who I am!" Really? REALLY? You REALLY think that Christ is going to hold you responsible for what you do with your money? Let's go through two scenarios, just to clarify some things:

Firstly, I am not against the idea of what Dave Ramsey calls the Checkbook Testimony: If someone looked through your checkbook, what you spent your money on shows who you are; ergo, if your checkbook looked like this:

1.Home Depot-1,659.78
2.Church-12.00
3.Mr. Peeps-54.92
4.Gambleonline.com-238.99
5.1-800-Get-Drunk-200.00

You'd have a problem. Drinking, gambling and, uh, whatever Mr. Peeps can be called (besides filth) is not a Christ-like character; however, should your checkbook look like this:

1.Goodwill-25.00
2.Church-150.00
3.J.C. Penny-75.00
4.Girl Scout Cookies-25.00
5.Church Fundraiser @ Panda Express-16.00

We get a little bit better idea. So the point is this: I get that, yes, what you buy defines who you are. If I buy the latest Apple products AS SOON AS THEY COME OUT BECAUSE I HAVE TO HAVE THEM *FROTHY MOUTH OF DOOM*-- then yes, I have a problem.

BUT! I have heard an argument that if the company uses my money to support other things I don't agree with, it's basically the same thing as me supporting them. Let me just say this: I think that's a really dumb philosophy, and you're gonna live a really hard life. For instance, say you're against homosexuality. Oreo just came out saying they support homosexuality. What, you're not gonna buy Oreos ever again? J.C. Penney supports homosexuality. No more good-priced, somewhat decent quality clothes for you? It's a stupid philosophy. Here's a small list of no-no's: places you can never shop from again, because they violate your ethical beliefs:

Apple
Amazon
Applebees
Ben&Jerry
Best Buy
Coca-Cola
eBay
Ford
General Motors
Home Depot
Kraft Foods
Levi's
McDonalds
Microsoft
Nike
Pepsi Co.
Proctor and Gamble
Sears
Starbucks
Target
UPS
Walt Disney Company
Wells Fargo

I'd like to point out that you are never going to drink soda again (unless you get something off-brand) you're never going to use a computer (unless you use Linux distro), you're gonna have a hard time buying something online unless it's from a dedicated website (good luck getting a good price), no COFFEE for you, and never ever ever in a million years can you watch a Disney movie again. Because heaven knows owning a copy of Lion King helps gays get money they don't deserve* (*Please note that was all sarcasm)

It's like making this same argument: Say you work for Nintendo. Now, being the awesome, stellar employee you are, you get a raise. AND A BONUS!!! YES! Awesome times! Ok. You have a 600 dollar bonus, and you go buy a PS3 product (note for those who don't know: PS3 is a Sony product, which is a direct competitor of Nintendo.) By your logic, Nintendo has just supported the notion of shooting itself in the foot by supporting direct competitors. Oh wait, NO THEY HAVEN'T!

Look, the bottom line is this: When you spend money, you get something: I buy Levi's, they get my money, I get some over-priced jeans. Once the money LEAVES MY HANDS, it's no longer my responsibility. Jesus isn't going to judge me for what LEVI'S does with that. He's gonna judge me for what I did with MY money. Remember our checkbooks up there? Jesus would ask: "Why did you support gambling MY money I gave you away to some website, when there are homeless, orphans, and widows that need help," not, "why did you buy some pants, the money for going to an employee's paycheck, up through the heirarchal chain of command until it reaches the CEO, then is paid to another organization that supports something I don't believe in?"

I mean, come on. Let's get our heads on straight here. The Samaritan didn't ask if the guy was a liberal or conservative before he paid him to take care of the guy he found on the road. He did it and left. End. Of. Story.

Consequences: And Their Funny Way of Always Happening

So, I just finished watching Operation:Repo, and what confuses me is when the people are all like "Woah! What are you doing with my car, man?" Or they get SUPER pissy! I mean, come on! You're two months behind on payments! What'd you think was gonna happen? You're smart! Take responsibility. You know why they're there, you know YOU aren't going to change their mind, so by throw all the emotions, the conniption fits, and getting angry for no good reason? In my opinion, the sign of a good man is someone who admits they've done wrong, and accepts the consequences of their actions. It was like a man on the max today: the fare inspector came, the guy didn't have his ticket, and simply said, "Well, go ahead and give me the fine. I don't have a ticket, and I don't have a sobbing excuse. I didn't buy one, and anything that happens is my fault." The fare inspector said, "Because of your honesty, I'll let you off the hook." See, children cry and scream when they get in trouble, because they know they're in the wrong but want their emotions to win the day. Stop being childish, and accept that your choices have consequences.

In His will,
Luke