Chic-fil-A...

The Cathy family has done a world of good and I'm glad they are fellow Christians. It is a fast food restaurant chain where, surprisingly, employees act like they enjoy working there, low paid though they may be.

I eat a CFA maybe once a week if you count stopping in for a milkshake or tea.

• Dan Cathy said nothing about gay marriage, but that didn't slow down the media firestorm. As someone said, it would have been nice in a story purported to be about gay marriage to have at least one quote about gay marriage. 
• It's a chicken sandwich, brethren, preferably (in the best Baptist tradition) fried, spicy, and with diet lemonade. I'm ambivalent about the waffle fries. I'm not thinking about gay marriage when I pull into the restaurant. I like the sandwich.
• The most salient thing CFA said was that they treat everyone well. The gay lobby and any other victimization groups are welcome to hold them to it. CFA wants to be held to that.
• You get treated like a grown-up in the restaurant, although all the "my pleasure" stuff can get annoying to old codgers. I get treated well in other restaurants but never better than at CFA...and they don't make you beg for a packet of salt or sweetener like most McDonald's, who seems to be perfectly willing to alienate customers to save a fraction of a penny.   
• Count me out on Mike Huckabee's CFA day promotion and, take this little warning from an old hand, whatever you do don't get on Huckabee's mailing list. He will hound you until Jesus comes and maybe beyond for donations to his political causes to save America, apple pie, motherhood and now Chic-fil-A. It's a racket.
• I'm also pretty much passing on buying from anyone just because he or she, or they, claim to be a "Christian" business. Hogwash. There are Christians in business but no Christian businesses. Provide a product or service I need, at a reasonable price; do it with integrity, treat me well, and I'll buy. I will not buy because you display some decal or religious symbol nor because you have certain political views.
• I like CFA even better now that I have had one of their employees act in somewhat of a surly manner towards me. It happened just a few days ago. Whew! I thought they were all Stepford minimum wage workers, but no, they're real people. Refreshing.
• I'll boycott CFA when they drop the cookies and cream milkshake. Heck, I'll picket over that.
• When they had cow day recently (dress up like a cow and get a free sandwich) I mooed but, sorry, no sandwich for me. Guess I needed   something visible.

Ruminate on all that, possibly while having a chicken sandwich.

Jesus loves you double cheesburger

While traveling through a small south Georgia town Friday, the sign for the local Dairy Queen captured my attention: "JESUS LOVES YOU DOUBLE CHEESBURGER"  it read. I didn't take a photo but the sign continued with fries, drink, and a price.

Had it been around lunch time perhaps I could have persuaded my wife to pull in and order it. I could visualize myself at the counter speaking with some teen, "Yeah, I'd like the Jesus love you double cheesburger deal."

More likely, I would have been ordered to, "Just drive on, smart aleck, we'll eat when we get there."

No doubt the proprietor just wanted to offer a word of Christian witness in his community - nothing wrong with that. It's just the odd juxtaposition of Jesus and a double cheesburger. There was insufficient room on the sign to separate the two messages. "Jesus loves you" really should be a modifier for a double cheesburger.

One wonders, would Jesus want to be identified with a double cheesburger?

LifeWay and other merchants have no difficulty allowing Jesus to be identified with chewing gum, mints, keychains, and other trinkets. The idea of "Jesus Loves You" printed on a set of toenail clippers doesn't add to my feelings of spirituality nor enhance my personal grooming experience. Jesus and capitalism leads to some odd arrangements.

Over the years, it has become more common for merchants and service providers to identify themselves as Christians. Business signs which contain a cross or a fish symbol are commonplace. Megachurches publish Christian business directories. I'd make the point that  there are Christians and there are businesses. There are Christians who operate businesses. But there are no Christian businesses.

Advertising that identifies one as a believer says, (a) "Hey, buy from me because I'm a Christian," or (b) "You can trust me because I'm a follower of Christ," or (c) both. I'm of the school that if you have to tell me you're a Christian, or paste it on a sign, it doesn't count. It should be obviousl

I'm not a big fan of Christian directories or business signe and don't go out of my way to patronize a hamburger joint or use a plumber because they declare themselves to be Christian. I'll go with the burger that best gives value and taste and the plumber who doesn't show any posterior, does a good job, promptly, at a reasonable price.

In fact, were I a merchant or service provider, I'd eschew the Christian sign and be diligent about conducting my business in a way that gives God glory. That way it counts.

Now if it were "JESUS LOVES YOU BACON DOUBLE CHEESBURGER" I might have been tempted.