Mt 10:17-22 Be Aware

Feast of St. Stephen, the First Martyr
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Jesus said to his disciples:  "Beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans..."

Beware.  Beware of interviews.  Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson has learned this lesson the hard way.  Or maybe he didn't. 

From what I have gathered, it sounds like GQ magazine may have intentionally set him up for "failure."  They knew before hand what his thoughts were on homosexuality.  They knew his interview would be "explosive" and "controversial" and "great for business."  He gave them what they wanted:  free publicity and a lot more money.  I wouldn't even be surprised if A&E knew about this well before the interview became public.  Money speaks, period.  And it speaks louder than anything else, including family unity.  Why haven't we heard much from Phil's family members?  I don't know. Anyways, I just read in the Huffington Post that A&E will have Phil back on the program starting in January.  Is your head spinning from all this made-up "controversy?"  Stay tuned.

A few days ago, the chiefs (not chefs) at Cracker Barrel came out strong against Phil Robertson.  They ordered the removal of some Duck Dynasty paraphernalia from all of their restaurants.  As soon as faithful customers got wind of this, they threatened a nationwide boycott of all their menu items.  Immediately, Cracker Barrel came out with the following statement:

"Dear Cracker Barrel Customer: When we made the decision to remove and evaluate certain Duck Dynasty items, we offended many of our loyal customers. Our intent was to avoid offending, but that’s just what we've done...You wrote, you called and you took to social media to express your thoughts and feelings. You flat out told us we were wrong. We listened. Today, we are putting all our Duck Dynasty products back in our stores."

Before Cracker Barrel did their about-face, employees at food chain were instructed to say the following to angry customers:  "I'm sorry you are disappointed with us.  I understand what you are saying, and I know this is important to you. What I can tell you is that we haven't recalled all of our Duck Commander merchandise and continue to offer Duck Commander products for sale." 

As the New York Daily News stated:  The talking points were boiled down to the acronym "STARS," which stands for "Sorry," "Thank you," "Action," "Recover" and "Share."

They could have simplified STAR with a dollar sign ($).  Folks, that's what it is all about.  Money speaks. 

Now if money speaks louder than values and morals, national unity and civility, then could this be the ultimate explanation for the explosive success of so many movements, including the homosexual lobby?  I think so.  Examine for example the Green Movement.  How did they become so successful?  Well, businesses are always looking for ways to differentiate themselves from others.  So now everyone is trying to be Green, including EXXON, CHEVON, SHELL and BP.  Get it?

Be aware and Beware. 

In my opinion, Phil's statements were extremely harsh and degrading.  But I don't blame him.  He's not a theologian or a minister.  He's one of two billion Christians in the world.  He is also a very wealthy business man.  Money speaks.  That's why they asked him to share his views about homosexuality. Does that make sense?  Of course not.  But money talks.   

But there is still one movement that has not caught on and most likely never will:  the Lord's movement.  Christianphobia is alive and well all around the world.  Christmas is duck season for many atheist organizations.

But what I find most disturbing about all of this is not so much the backlash surrounding Phil's comments, but the lack of a backlash from believers and non-believers on how Christianity (and Christians) are portrayed in the entertainment industry.  How do they get off insulting others without a scratch?  Turn the other cheek... Oh, that's right.

Be aware and beware.