Never Satisfied: Chick-Fil-A’s Cautionary Tale
by David Matranga
If you missed it, Chick-Fil-A was in the news quite a bit this week, but for a very different reason than usual. On Monday, they announced a decision to no longer financially support the Salvation Army or the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. In talking about their decision, the president of Chick-Fil-A said, “There’s no question we know that, as we go into new markets, we need to be clear about who we are… [and] to be clear about our message.”
Our goal with the Off My Notes blog is not to become a news source or political commentary; it’s to share spiritual truths to help you grow. We feel like this is worthy of discussion because it exemplifies the strategy of our enemy and what can happen to many of us when we start to drift from our convictions due to peer pressure.
Chick-Fil-A is a food chain founded on Christian principles. They are famous for being closed on Sundays to honor the Lord and have had, at least until recently, a strong reputation of standing for Biblical truths. It was these principles that led the company to make political donations in the past and to support many faith-based charities. Unfortunately, backlash from those who are opposed to Christian values pressured the company to stop donating to political causes in 2012, but they still donated to many Christian charities. The pressure against them continued, so they later cut off funding and ties with most of these charities, too. Instead of finding relief from their opponents, Chick-Fil-A remained at the top of the hit list. They gave in, but their enemy didn’t give up.
Now they’ve decided not to renew giving with these last two vocally Christian charities. Will the protests, negative press, and boycotts stop now?
It doesn’t look like it.
Monday’s announcement was largely met with apathy among Chick-Fil-A’s detractors. What the company touts as a change that will be more accepting is simply not being accepted. The advocacy group GLAAD responded to Chick-Fil-A’s announcement by saying, “In addition to refraining from financially supporting anti-LGBTQ organizations, Chick-Fil-A still lacks policies to ensure safe workplaces for LGBTQ employees and should unequivocally speak out against the anti-LGBTQ reputation that their brand represents.” Other groups and individuals that have been antagonistic to Chick-Fil-A in the past are now demanding that they donate to pro-LGBTQ causes and organizations.
How did all of this start? Simply because it was found out years ago that Chick-Fil-A’s CEO supports traditional marriage. Since then, the pressure has never stopped, though until now their sales were strong and they had heavy support from the Christian community. Now, it seems like everyone is mad at them. Playing both ends against the middle is a difficult game.
On the one hand, the company was put in a difficult position, one that they didn’t ask for, but on the other hand, that’s life. You and I will be put in difficult places throughout life as well. Will we compromise and concede? It’s a story as old as they come.
For us, believers in Jesus Christ and followers of the Word He gave us, the lesson is sobering. We are called to stand by the Bible and what it teaches. This is not because it is comfortable or simply out of routine, but because it is the living Word of God, given to us for “teaching, reproof, correction, [and] for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). We are called to stand for His ways out of response to the love He demonstrated on the cross. Anything less shows ingratitude for His sacrifice. Sometimes the world around us will be offended at what we believe, but that’s part of following Jesus.
So what happens when we compromise to the demands of the world and the culture? The pressure to keep conceding only grows. The appeasement strategy never worked out too well in history – Just ask Neville Chamberlain. The devil’s strategy is to tempt you into step-by-step compromise, promising peace and that you’ll fit in if you just go a little further. The truth is, he’ll never stop until your life is alien to the ways of God and hostile to His Word. Compromising our values never delivers what it promises.
So what of Chick-Fil-A? I would encourage those of you who have been outspoken supporters of Chick-Fil-A because of their Christian stance to write the company and share your frustration. This is an issue that ultimately concerns all of us, whether you like chicken or not.
