A CULTURAL COMPROMISE

From My Perspective - - -

Some people were surprise and others were shocked by a news headline on April 8^th, 2014 that stated: “Chick-fil-A Looks to Lower the Heat on Gay Marriage.” The article in Time includes some of the following: “CEO Dan Cathy wants his company to get past a controversy in 2012 over his anti-gay marriage comments by starting to focus more on attracting younger customers and leaving the public discussion of social issues to politicians Chick-fil-A wants to move beyond recent controversy over the fast food chain’s stance on gay marriage as it looks to court younger customers.” Why was this decision made at this time?

Dan Cathy’s reasoning is summed up in the following statement: “CEO Dan Cathy told USA Today in an interview published Monday that he’s bringing the company into a millennial-friendly era that will not only include new menu items and store locations, but a new perspective on what beliefs should and shouldn’t be shared with the public.” His decision has three components: (1) appeal to younger people (millennial-friendly), (2) introduction of new menu items, (3) business expansion into new markets (New York in particular and the Northeast in general), and perhaps the most telling and disappointing is (4) his “new perspective on what beliefs should and shouldn’t be shared with the public.” Reason (1) above has the following goal: “Chick-fil-A wants to move beyond recent controversy over the fast food chain’s stance on gay marriage as it looks to court younger customers.” Reason (3) above has the following rationale behind it: “Cathy is also eyeing more urban markets in which to open 108 new restaurants this year. Many of these will open in New York because, as VP of design and innovation Woody Faulk said: If we can’t do it in New York, we have no business going anywhere else.”

The value judgment everyone must make at given moments of time is vital. Regardless of what is said by the management of Chick-fil-A, the unvarnished perception people will have is that (1) personal convictions are a matter of convenience; (2) the business bottom-line is far more important than foundational principles and moral values; and (3) Jesus Christ and Biblical Values should not be a corporate function in the market place. This definitive moment in the corporate life of Chick-fil-A will have support from the liberal politicians and churches. There will also be the conservative reaction of condemnation and the threat to boycott the Chick-fil-A establishments.  What should the non-compromising Christian do?

A similar question was raised in Psalm 11:3, “if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?"A timely and applicable word is given in the Treasury of David, where Charles Haddon Spurgeon commented on Psalm 11:3 and wrote: “It was equally correct that the very foundations of law and justice were destroyed under Saul's unrighteous government: but what were all these things to the man whose trust was in God alone? He could brave the dangers, could escape the enemies, and defy the injustice which surrounded him. His answer to the question, "What can the righteous do?" would be the counter question, "What cannot they do?" When prayer engages God on our side, and when faith secures the fulfilment of the promise, what cause can there be for flight, however cruel and mighty our enemies? With a sling and a stone, David had smitten a giant before whom the whole hosts of Israel were trembling, and the Lord, who delivered him from the uncircumcised Philistine, could surely deliver him from King Saul and his myrmidons. There is no such word as "impossibility" in the language of faith; that martial grace knows how to fight and conquer, but she knows not how to flee.” In the section, Hints for Pastors and Lay-Persons, Spurgeon adds: “If all earthly things fail, and the very State fall to pieces, what can we do? We can suffer joyfully, hope cheerfully, wait patiently, pray earnestly, believe confidently, and triumph finally.” There is “the necessity of holding and preaching foundation truths.” 

If Spurgeon was commenting on the Chick-fil-A business decision, he might be forthright and suggest that just as Lot was directed to not even look back at Sodom and Gomorrah, neither should God’s people look back or shrink back from His values. A word that applies to all generations in all situations is I Samuel 2:30, “…those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.” The Message paraphrase states this verse: “I honor those who honor me; those who scorn me I demean.” How should you/will you respond to Chick-fil-A? Consider God’s Word and these things with me!