4 Jul, 2011
Happy Mc4th of July
Serving up reform with ‘Hot Coffee’
A woman is buying coffee at the McDonald’s drive-through. While steering with one hand and sipping with the other, she drops her drink on her lap. The coffee burns; she sues McDonald’s and walks away a millionaire. And so begins the age of the frivolous lawsuit.
Susan Saladoff has no patience for that phrase. “What’s your definition of ‘frivolous’? Most people think the McDonald’s coffee case is frivolous, until they learn the truth,” she says.
The true story, like most true stories, is a little more complicated than the better-known version. Stella Liebeck, then 79, spilled the coffee while sitting shotgun in a parked car. The drink had been brewed to 180 degrees. Liebeck suffered burns so severe her doctors worried she might not survive.
“Look, everybody knows coffee is hot,” Saladoff said, leaning across the table at Starbucks. “But nobody expects that if you’re buying coffee through the drive-through and you spill it on yourself, you’re going to need skin grafts.”
Saladoff is the director of “Hot Coffee,” a documentary that uses the notorious McDonald’s case to launch an exploration of justice, or lack thereof, in the United States.
Saladoff is still floored by “Hot Coffee’s” reception. “The film has taken off in ways that I had dreamed about and believed could happen, but the fact that it’s actually happening is — the word ‘awesome’ is now colloquial, but I am in awe, so therefore it is awesome.”
article courtesy of - The Washington Post
photo courtesy of - Google Images
1st Peter 2:9 (NIV)
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
What does today's God Story teach us about justice and the 4th of July?
A holy nation. What does that phrase even mean? Does is mean that Christians are supposed to make the nation-states they live in more holy? Or does it mean that Christians are called to participate in the building up of a "peculiar", "holy", "special", "preisthood" that is literally God's own posession. How are Christians to live "in the world, but not of it". (John 17:14)
So what does all this have to do with McDonalds, hot coffee, or the 4th of July?
This is about how Christians relate to the "powers that be" (a phrase the apostle Paul uses to describe the powerful spiritual and social forces at work in the world).
McDonalds is powerful. The U.S.A. is powerful. The Kingdom of God is powerful.
When an old woman is scorched by hot McDonalds coffee it's such a big deal that documentary films about "justice" are made about it.
When the U.S.A. celebrates it's "birthday" it's such a big deal that people take off work, have a cookout, and light up the sky with fireworks.
When the Kingdom of God is made known in the earth the blind see, the lame walk, the widow is comforted, the oppressed are set free.
These powers don't always mingle well. Jesus was persecuted and killed by the wealthy and political elites of his day, which should be more than enough to remind Christians to treat the powers like hot coffee, and "handle with care".
As Christians, may we strive to invest everything we have and are into the formation of a holy nation that loves, forgives, does justice, loves mercy, and walks humbly with God. Yes we are "in the world", but we are not "of it". Therefore, our allegiance is first to the "holy nation" before the political one we find ourselves in. God's justice is beyond anything that McDonalds or America could ever collaborate to create.
How can I connect My Story with today's God Story?
- Take some time in prayer today to ask God for discernment about how to "handle the Powers with care".
How can I connect today's God Story to Their Story?
- Talk with a friend about how Christians ought to celebrate the 4th of July. As people who are, "in the world, but not of it".
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