Christians, Red Cups, Crazy Shoppers and An Act of Kindness

It is only the beginning of November and I am already overwhelmed and confused by the rudeness, lack of respect and the seemingly non-existent love for one another approaching one of the most beautiful times of year. My head is spinning with thoughts surrounding Thanksgiving, Christmas, family, red cups, snowflakes, trees, angels, stars, political debates and what I am going to fix for dinner tonight.  The red cup deal at Starbucks really has me baffled.  I am especially concerned for my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ that have taken to the extreme of showing their anger in such barbaric behavior all over Social Media and in the Starbuck’s Coffee Houses.  I am embarrassed that my adopted family is blinded by the attempts of the enemy to distract us from our true purpose this time of year and all year long for that matter and that is to show the love of Jesus to everyone everywhere all the time. It is our job to rise above this type of petty nonsense and be a light that shines wherever we go. The bible says in Matthew 5:11-12 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted prophets who were before you.” Oh my goodness people get a grip! There isn’t anything new under the sun and this isn’t the first time Christians have been attacked (which I do not think they are actually being attacked). I also think we should really use our words more wisely. Whoever coined the phrase “war on Christmas” should be ashamed of themselves for using the word war. We have a real war going on in the world and it is causing red but red blood shed of innocent lives not the color of a silly cup. Is it really the end of the world that Starbucks is anti-Christian?  If it has really gotten in your craw then just say to yourself that red is the color of the blood that was shed for my sins and drink your Mocha Latte Grande and get on with your day. Or write Merry Christmas on your cup yourself, or buy some Christmas stickers and decorate those solid red paper trouble starting cups yourself.  I am really baffled as to why so many people are up in arms about this red cup madness.  I feel like as Christians we are supposed to be above bickering over such nonsense. We are supposed to be a light in the world. Jesus broke bread with the sinners and we are to do the same.  If you feel it is necessary to boycott Starbucks then do it in silence while praying for the leadership of the company. 

Jesus may have gotten angry and turned over some tables in the synagogue but seriously think about what was going on and it was in the church. I do not believe that Jesus would walk up into Starbuck’s and take all those red cups and fling them across the bistro and yell at the baristas. I think he would invite the homeless guy sitting outside to come inside with him, buy him a cup of warm coffee and share His love with them. Or maybe He would walk into the Coffee House next door very non-chalantly and get his coffee there, but He certainly would not be throwing the temper tantrums that some of you have been throwing. I’m done.

Let me address the shopping madness that has already begun and we aren’t even close to Black Friday. I was in Michael’s the other day and this woman went off on the sales clerk over her receipt. I mean went off. I thought we were going to have to call 911 if that blue vein in the side of her neck got any bigger because it was surely going to pop. She left the store went out to her car and then came back in again shouting at her previous sales clerk in front of everyone. Then she demanded to see a manager and continued shouting at her and I am sure it was to make sure that everyone in the store could hear her. Mad props to the staff that works there, they just kept smiling and handled it to the best of their ability with things like “yes mam” “we understand mam” and so on. I will continue to buy my crafting supplies from them not only because they always have everything I need but also because they know how to handle disgruntled customers. 

I do not feel lead to share

anymore of these terrible shopping experiences because I don’t want to feed the negativity but I will continue to pray for the hearts of many to be softened and to discover the true meaning of Christmas and that it is NOT materialism. 

On another note traffic has increasingly gotten worse over the last couple of weeks and the number of times I’ve been cut off has quadrupled. I have also come close to being rear ended ten times more than the norm for driving in Richmond. These silly distractions are exactly what the devil wants to use to keep us from celebrating the true reason of Christmas and it is working. 

You have ALL been sucked into it (apparently so have I) and the absolute worst part is the Christians. The Christians the ones who are supposed to be setting a godly example, keeping the peace and spreading love and joy are the ones filling up social media with hate and blogs and videos and debates that just feed the anti-Christian world with more ammo to shoot at us. I am seriously thinking of developing a new word to call myself. I am thinking when someone asks me “are you a Christian?” I am going to say “I am a Follower and Worshiper of the One who created me and His name is God”. Sure it is a mouthful, but so is having to explain to people that you are one of the “good” Christians, not one of these crazy fanatical nut jobs arguing over red cups and pointing fingers at other Christians who drink Starbucks and shop at Target and Walmart. Seriously, if I stopped shopping at every store in my home town

that was anti-Christian or stopped shopping at stores that supported something my Christianity doesn’t support I would have to become a stay at home mom that grew my own food, made mine and my family’s clothes and completely and totally lived off the grid. Actually that sounds pretty good, but I just don’t have time. The truth is we can all knit pick anything to death that we choose to become passionate about but choosing to lift up Christ and let His light shine through you in every single situation is really what Jesus wants us to do. 

Honestly I turn a deaf ear when a “Christian” starts spilling their theology on why we should boycott this or why we should not shop there or why why why…it is exhausting and overwhelming. They have turned a beautiful love story between me and my God into a corrupt misrepresentation of what it was originally meant to be. The bible is our most sacred guide to how we should live our life for Christ. If you think pushing your Martyrdom and your boycotting ways on people is going to win them to Christ then you too have been deceived. Do you really think God is nodding His head in approval to your behavior? Do you have actual scripture to back up your actions or have you selected just what you want and twisted and turned it to suit your point of view? Jesus ate with sinners and won them over by His love and compassion. Are you showing love and compassion in your criticisms and judgement? 

You may think it is “tough” love that you are showing or justified righteous judgement because of the authority given to you through Christ, but alas you are mistaken. When Christ brings conviction it brings change and revealed truth and if what you are doing is not doing that or bringing about those results then I ask you to seek harder the kingdom and find a different approach. 

The devil has gotten an upper hand already and we haven’t even gotten to Thanksgiving yet.

Okay now that my rant is over I realize that in trying to persuade you to not be so harsh I have come across a bit harsh. I know that everyone thinks their heart is in the right place (okay not everyone) but we have to do a better job of really letting our hearts be in the right place; all of the Christians and non-Christians alike.  If we want to see change in the world we have to be that change. None of us are perfect. We could ALL stand to be kinder, more generous, more compassionate, more understanding, less judgmental, less cranky, more grateful, more loving and more appreciative.   Let us hop on the “I am Thankful” trend that is plastered all over Facebook right now. We have plenty of time to catch on.  

Philippians 4:8 King James Version says this: "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever, things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

Let us set our minds on the good things we see and stop giving all of our precious attention to the bad. Christians, be a light, tell someone today that you love them, reach out to someone in need, and be a shoulder to cry on and an ear that is willing to listen. Someday you may be that person in need and remember we reap what we sew.

In closing this pretty lengthy blog (not my longest ever though) I want to share with you that I am not just preaching it I am trying hard to live it. In our Wednesday night Bible Study young adult class we have been studying love. I wanted to give them an opportunity to show some love to some very deserving people. 

We loaded up our church bus and went to Starbucks. We bought a whole bunch of those red cups filled with delicious coffee and then we took that coffee over to the Veterans hospital. Unfortunately we only saw one vet roaming the halls (it was kind of late) but we went to the ICU unit and blessed the nurses on duty with some coffee. We told them that we really appreciate what they do and we thanked them for taking care of our veterans. They were so appreciative. Their smiles warmed our hearts and now every time they see a red cup they will think of the church that blessed them with coffee while working the night shift. It opened a door for us to invite them to our church and to show them kindness and love. Last thought; while we were in Starbucks we saw the words “Merry Christmas” everywhere. It was on gift cards, bags of coffee, cups and more. So I am even more convinced now that this was a genius publicity stunt by Starbucks to get more business and it worked. Well played Starbuck’s well played.