'Breakfast at McDonald's' tale gave me heartburn...by Pat Franklin

We were sent an email which many readers may have received. It is typical of several heart-rending tales going round on the Internet that sound Christian, but are not. Some of us need a crash course in discernment, so here goes – the email ‘Breakfast at McDonald’s’ followed by our comments on it. You may think we are being too critical, but actually the Bible urges us to analyze, test and review things objectively, and that gives God glory, because that way we get to the truth. Here is the email just as we received it: Breakfast at McDonald's This is a good story and is true, please read it all the way through until the end! (After the story, there are some very interesting facts!): I am a mother of three (ages 14, 12, 3) and have recently completed my college degree. The last class I had to take was Sociology. The teacher was absolutely inspiring with the qualities that I wish every human being had been graced with. Her last project of the term was called, 'Smile.' The class was asked to go out and smile at three people and document their reactions. I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway. So, I thought this would be a piece of cake, literally. Soon after we were assigned the project, my husband, youngest son, and I went out to McDonald's one crisp March morning. It was just our way of sharing special playtime with our son. We were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away, and then even my husband did. I did not move an inch... an overwhelming feeling of panic welled up inside of me as I turned to see why they had moved. As I turned around I smelled a horrible 'dirty body' smell, and there standing behind me were two poor homeless men. As I looked down at the short gentleman, close to me, he was 'smiling'. His beautiful sky blue eyes were full of God's Light as he searched for acceptance. He said, 'Good day' as he counted the few coins he had been clutching. The second man fumbled with his hands as he stood behind his friend. I realized the second man was mentally challenged, and the blue-eyed gentleman was his salvation. I held my tears as I stood there with them. The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted. He said, 'Coffee is all Miss' because that was all they could afford. (If they wanted to sit in the restaurant and warm up, they had to buy something. He just wanted to be warm). Then I really felt it - the compulsion was so great I almost reached out and embraced the little man with the blue eyes. That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me, judging my every action. I smiled and asked the young lady behind the counter to give me two more breakfast meals on a separate tray. I then walked around the corner to the table that the men had chosen as a resting spot. I put the tray on the table and laid my hand on the blue-eyed gentleman's cold hand. He looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, 'Thank you.' I leaned over, began to pat his hand and said, 'I did not do this for you God is here working through me to give you hope.' I started to cry as I walked away to join my husband and son. When I sat down my husband smiled at me and said, 'That is why God gave you to me, Honey, to give me hope.' We held hands for a moment and at that time, we knew that only because of the Grace that we had been given were we able to give. We are not church goers, but we are believers. That day showed me the pure Light of God's sweet love. I returned to college, on the last evening of class, with this story in hand. I turned in 'my project' and the instructor read it. Then she looked up at me and said, 'Can I share this?' I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the class. She began to read, and that is when I knew that we as human beings and being part of God, share this need to heal people and to be healed. In my own way I had touched the people at McDonald's, my son, instructor, and every soul that shared the classroom on the last night I spent as a college student. I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn: UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE. (end of story) Then there follows some bit of rubbish about angels and haviing our wishes granted if we forward the email on to our friends. My comments on ‘Breakfast at McDonald’s’: Above is the story we were sent. Reading it, I started to get tears in my eyes, but then thought - hang on, something's not right here, and read it again. If it is a true story, this lady had a soft heart, but a muddled brain. It is great that she helped two needy people and bought them breakfast, but no way are we 'part of God'. God is a spirit. He does not need any 'parts'. He is the Creator. We are His creations, quite separate from Him. To say we are ‘part of God’ is pantheism – the false teaching that everything is part of God. This is an evil teaching hidden in a soft story. The writer also says she is a believer - in what or whom? No mention of the Lord Jesus! Lots of people say they believe in God, but they never mention Jesus. Jesus, on the other hand, said: 'No one comes to the Father except through Me.' If the writer was not committed fully to Jesus Christ, she does not know God at all. Then she mentions angels and calls them 'she'. Angels are not feminine. They are always spoken of as male in the Bible. The only two good angels who are named in scripture are Michael and Gabriel. I can't think of any others. The Catholic Church invented one, Raphael, but he's not in the Bible. There are two bad ones named, Satan and Abaddon (destroyer), also male. Also the woman in the story says she is a believer, but not a church goer. I know a lot of people like this, but I doubt that they are believers at all. If they were, they would know that the Bible warns against ‘forsaking the assembling of ourselves together’. If this woman was a real believer in the Lord Jesus, He would be her Good Shepherd. She would be one of His sheep, and that means she would be relating to some other sheep; she would be one of a flock. Otherwise she might be a lone wolf, not a sheep at all. I am really wary of nice stories about 'God'. Which 'God' do they mean? Some New Age version of God? Allah? If they mean the true God, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, why don't they say so? That is the way to identify the real God. The Lord Jesus told us the main hallmark of the end times is deception. And Satan comes as an angel of light. The story sounds good, showing love to homeless people, but then it sneaks in some really bad theology. And it completely lets Jesus out of the picture, giving Him no glory at all. At the end of the story, the email continued with a promise that if you made a wish and sent the story to your friends, your wish would definitely come true, and the more people you forwarded it to, the quicker your wish would be granted. It did not say who would grant your wish….. This is not Christian. Christians ask the Father, who supplies all our needs, and we ask in the Name of Jesus. We do not have to forward emails to manipulate Him to give us what we want. He knows what we need before we even ask. I see another hand than His behind this, so this is one email I will certainly not be forwarding to anyone. I only reprint it here to warn Christians and urge people to be more discerning. This reminded me of the chain letters which used to be go round. I didn’t like those, and I don’t like this email version. It made me wonder if someone somewhere might be building up a database of people who receive this email. The writer of this email story should carefully consider her eternal destiny. The Lord Jesus said there was only one way to Heaven, and He is it. Smiling won’t cut it. Good works are like filthy rags, according to Paul in Romans Chapter 3. The one and only thing that wins the great prize of eternal life is trusting in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. So, dear readers, be of good cheer. Bin the email, but look up, for we are definitely in those deceptive end times, and that means the Lord is coming back soon!

31/03/2008

 
 
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'And call no man your father upon the earth; for one is your Father, which is in heaven.' (In defiance or perhaps ignorance of this, Catholic and Anglican priests are addressed as 'Father' and the pope is called 'Holy Father.')
Matthew 23:9

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