By REV. CHUCK GRIFFITH
Religion Columnist

Last night the Fayetteville Planning and Zoning Commission was scheduled to consider a new development plan for a Hooters restaurant at Banks Road and Ga. Highway 314.

Do we really want a Hooters restaurant in Fayetteville? Could the addition of this restaurant mark the relaxing of our community standards? With the exception of a few inches of tight cloth, what is the difference between this restaurant and a restaurant with topless waitresses?

Some of you probably think I am an old stick in the mud at this point. Honestly think about this situation with me for a moment.

Though I have never been to a Hooters, everyone knows the basic attraction of this restaurant. Hooters is not just about good food. It appears to me that the stomach is not the initial target in their marketing plan. Could it be that the stomach is really just the plate on which they serve a dish that appeals to a different appetite?

What I am saying is that men go there to fill their eyes more than their stomachs. When people think of Hooters they do not think about chicken wings but about young females in very little clothing. Any honest man that goes there would admit this. A man that says he goes to Hooters for their food would also tell you he reads Playboy for the articles.

A friend of mine and I were in Florida for a seminary course several years ago. At dinner time he suggested we go to the local Hooters for dinner. My response was simply, “No, I can't do that.” When he further asked for an explanation, I simply gave him one of the many reasons I did not want to go there.

Let me give you several of the reasons:

1. I want to please God. I am a red-blooded American male and I know that my eyes can easily distract me. Jesus warned that adultery does not begin as an act but as a heart attitude. (Matthew 5:28).

2. I want to be sensitive to my wife's feelings. How would she feel if she heard that I had gone to a Hooters? (This is the reason I mentioned to my friend in Florida.)

God has given me a beautiful wife. I want my eyes to have a singular focus on her. I do not want to do anything that would make her feel insecure about my love and devotion.

3. I have two daughters and I do not want to contribute to anything in society that reduces women to being toys for men's entertainment. I also do not want to contribute to raising men who are confused about this issue.

Maybe you do not share my first two reasons, but I hope you can see the importance of the impact things can have on our families and our society.

There are other reasons I could give here but I think you get the idea.

I do not understand the details of zoning, but I would have serious concerns about letting a Hooters come to Fayetteville. I do not think this is just another restaurant option. I think it is a compromise for our community.

Chuck Griffith is pastor of Fayette Assembly of God, 1144 Ga. Highway 92 South in Fayetteville, 770-719-0322.

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