What's all the commotion about these red Starbucks coffee cups? (Facebook)
Yes, this is another post about Starbucks and their decision to remove any mention of Christ or Christmas from their new holiday-themed coffee cups. There seems to be a lot of hype around these cups, their lack of Christ and the so-called "outrage" taking place among Christian circles.
I recently did a poll on Twitter to see how many people truly cared about these cups, and the results were as I expected. Not many people actually care ...
It would be silly for us to expect non-Christian companies to do Christlike things during holidays that celebrate Christ. So instead of worrying about whether or not a coffee company not run by Christians is going to put "Merry Christmas" on their cups, we should rather focus on loving our neighbors, extending grace and being tangible examples of what it means to follow Jesus. God isn't worried about red cups; He's worried about Christians reflecting an image of Christ all year long.
It would be unbiblical for someone to force another to follow Jesus, so why would it be OK to force a non-believing company to follow Him?
Starbucks may not be a Christian-founded company, but over the years they have graciously allowed me to host hundreds of Bible studies at numerous locations around the country. I've never once been asked to leave because I was a Christian or even looked at wrong because I had a Bible with me. Starbucks isn't out to get Christians, but for some reason people have crafted the lie that Christians are out to get Starbucks. It's just not true.
There are people all around the world who are being persecuted for their faith to the point of death, and I believe 100 percent of these people would laugh at the Americans' red cup riot against Starbucks. It's really not that big of a deal. We as Christians should be known more for what we are for than what we are against.
And if we really want something to rally about, how about we start with the fact that there is one death by suicide in the U.S. every 13 minutes, that over 400,000 children are living in the foster care system in America and that 3.5 million people experience homelessness each year.
There are a lot more important things that need our attention. Let's leave cups to Dixie.
Jarrid Wilson is a husband, pastor and author relentlessly sharing the love of Jesus.For the original article, visit jarridwilson.com.
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