Have you ever felt like you were taking the heat for someone else’s stupidity? Well, imagine that your name is “Red Hen.”
On Friday, June 22, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was refused service at the Red Hen, a farm-to-table restaurant in Lexington, Virginia, by the co-owner, Stephanie Wilkinson. Wilkinson reportedly balked when she saw Sanders and refused to deliver her entrée because she serves as press secretary for Donald Trump. She asked Sanders to leave. Sanders complied and later tweeted about it without animosity, just regret for being treated that way.
Of course, this was one owner of one place that happened to be called the “Red Hen.” But the response across America, the world, and even online has been astounding. Shops, restaurants, and retailers, both brick-and-mortar and online, have suffered, caught up in the riot of criticism simply by association.
Just because they share the name.
A restaurant in Washington, DC, got so many threats that a police officer was dispatched to guard it, and the building was still egged late at night. Its owners eventually put a block-lettered sign reading “#NOTTHATREDHEN” in the window.
Sara Carpenter, assistant manager for the Red Hen Bar and Grill in Napa, CA, lamented, “We had to shut down our website, we had to shut down our Facebook, and we’re getting calls all day long for the last couple days.” And a Red Hen in Swedesboro, New Jersey, pleaded with people to stop pummeling their Facebook page. Even a Red Hen in the Philippines was blasted online! Yeah, really.
Notice the pattern. And the irony. Sanders is ostracized because of her association with Donald Trump. Then the Red Hens worldwide are slammed because they share the name of the guilty one.
Guilt by association swallows everyone who holds the name in common.
But guilt by association is nothing new. Especially for Christians.
Lumping Christians into a basket is common practice by those who prefer to stereotype rather than seek the truth. It is an easy way out (as is all discrimination). Rather than get to know people and face our own flaws and failures, we turn and attack the representatives of Christ.
No surprise there. Jesus gave us a heads up: “If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you” (John 15:18).
Being vilified because we serve Christ is not the problem. It’s our calling. I’m not saying it is right or fair or reasonable. But when we signed on to follow Christ, we agreed to expect misunderstanding, misinterpretation, blame, and even persecution because we have associated ourselves with Him (1 Peter 2:20-21, 4:4).
What is not so palatable is when Christians do stupid things and the rest of us suffer for it. Every pastor since the apostle Paul has heard these words, “I don’t go to church. They’re all hypocrites.” That’s often an excuse to avoid Christ. But there is some truth in it. And we all know it. Sometimes, even often, “Christians” do things that are just not very Christian.
And well, those “Christians” give us all a bad name.
Of course, sometimes even growing Christians, certain and serious about following Christ, mess up and are in need of loving care to get back to where they need to be (Gal. 6:1).
But if you are just misbehaving and dragging the Name along with you, take a hard look at your life. It could be that you are a religious church-goer, but you have not experienced the transforming power of Christ (Gal. 5:4)
Or it could be that you are a confessing Christian, but you are holding onto old habits and behaviors that stunt your growth in Christ (Gal. 5:16-17).
Either way, the name goes where you go. “Christian.” If your behavior provides the definition, what does the word mean?
I’m not wagging my finger with self-righteous oversight. I’ve been there. I’ve been the guy that made other Christians wish for a moment they weren’t included in the same sentence with me.
But the very biblical lesson from the Red Hen fiasco is this one thing: When we all share a name, we all share the consequences of actions associated with that name. Right or wrong. Good or bad.
So when you say you will live for Christ, do your best to do so. God will help you (Gal. 5:22-23).
Because what you do impacts everyone else who has the same Name.