The People That Chick-fil-A Would Have Shunned Today

Part one in this story series ...
 

They're mentioned 22 times in the Gospels.

Publicans.

Or, for our purposes, tax collectors.

But these weren't your run-of-the-mill IRS bureaucrats.

No.

These people were considered the worst of the worst by their fellow Jewish brothers. They collected taxes for Rome, you see. Their methods could be described, at best, as unscrupulous.

And they were despised, so much that they couldn't even give an offering in the sacred Temple. Heck, if you'd lived in Roman-era Palestine, you would have hated them, too.

Here's how tax collecting in the Roman Empire worked:

First, you had "publicani," wealthy Roman knights who bought for a fixed sum the taxes and customs of particular provinces. Under them were "chiefs of publicans." They supervised districts within the Roman provinces. Reporting to them ... were the publicans. The publicans gathered customs on exports and imports and taxes. Usually, the publicans' collect locations were city gates, public roads or bridges.

But tax collectors were the Benedict Arnolds of their day -- traitors of the highest order.

They extorted their countrymen, pocketing above and beyond what Rome had called them to collect. Most Jews thought it unlawful to pay tribute to the pagan Roman Gentiles, but it was much worse that they were being plundered by those who should have been standing with them, side by side, in opposition to their conquerors.

A publican was to be treated with the highest degree of contempt. They were vile. They degraded themselves. They disgraced their families. They were lumped in with the same category of "sinner" as prostitutes, thieves and murderers.

And they were sanctioned heavily in this culture. They weren't allowed to give alms in the place of worship. People couldn't even use money given to them as gifts by publicans. And publicans weren't allowed to be witnesses in legal proceedings.

They were absolutely abhorrent.

In short, if they'd tried to have lunch at Chick-fil-A today, they would have been told that they didn't meet the definition of "family values." They would have been shown the door immediately.

And these were the people who invited Jesus to a party one night.

Tune in tomorrow to see if He showed up.

The Day Christians Stopped Being Christlike

I know I said I was going to put this blog on the shelf.

But this week, something happened that made me so irate, so sickened, so embarrassed to be lumped into the same category of the phrase, "evangelical Christian," that I felt this post was necessary.

Usually posts here are designed to dovetail into the blog's theme title: "Christian Safehouse." I decided a long time ago not to bash my fellow Christians and make this a place where people could vent their issues without harassment.

Then I got to thinking about it and realized there were a lot of times in the Bible where Jesus told off religious people.

Notice that I make the distinction, "religious people," versus, "believers." Because if you're not a Pharisee at heart, this blog post isn't for you.

No. This blog post is for everyone who thinks that they showed Christ's love by eating at Chick-fil-A this week.

An interaction with a fellow "Christian" on Twitter last night made me sit up and decide that I won't be silent about this. I let a lot of comments pass by me without commentary, but this is where I draw the line.

I was asked, "What do you teach your child at home?" because of my stance against the Chick-fil-A establishment.

I'll tell you what I teach him. I teach him that Jesus came to die for all men.

All. Men.

All.

I teach him against bigotry. He knows all about the Civil Rights Movement, and he'll learn about what it means to embrace people regardless of their sexual orientation when he's old enough to hear about it.

I teach him that there was a group of people called the Pharisees, and that they were responsible for putting Jesus on a cross. You know why they were responsible?

Because Jesus told them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”

Remember that story?

Did any of them throw a stone at that woman after He said that?

No, they went off and plotted His death. They didn't like being called out. It made them mad enough to kill Him.


See, here's the thing. You don't have to agree with the gay community. You don't.


But you do have orders from Someone who died for you that you're supposed to love everyone.


When you're more concerned about going on the war path because a community hurts your feelings, are you turning the other cheek?


When you're more concerned about lining up at a restaurant than you are with feeding the poor or clothing the hungry, are you showing mercy?


When you're more concerned about protecting your rights as Christians than you are about the people who are lost and just need a little compassion and understanding, are you practicing forgiveness?


Those questions are rhetorical.


Don't tell me that your lunch at Chick-fil-A was Christ-sanctioned.


If you fully believe that, you have no business reading this blog. Because this blog is a Christian Safehouse. 

It's reserved for Christians.