Chick-Fil-A's Act of Cowardice
“Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!”
These were the words of the announcer covering the classic Heavyweight Championship boxing match billed as "The Sunshine Showdown" in which George Foreman stunned Joe Frazier with a series of furious punches and sent him to the canvas. These same words, slightly tweaked, also rang in my head last month…
“Down goes Chick-Fil-A! Down goes Chick-Fil-A! Down goes Chick-Fil-A!”
Why? Because one of the largest fast-food chains to have historically honored Christian values seems to have capitulated to the radical left, following a series of calculated and malicious attacks by the LGBTQ+ community.
To the complete shock of the nation, Chick-fil-A recently announced that they will stop all donations to charities with “anti-LGBTQ+ views” in an effort to “be clear about [their] message.” This means that organizations that hold to a biblical understanding of marriage and sexuality, (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5-6; Mark 10:6-9; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9) like The Salvation Army, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and the Paul Anderson Youth Home, will no longer be supported by Chick-Fil-A. Instead, the fast-food giant will now donate to progressive organizations like Covenant House International.
Covenant House, an organization that provides shelter for underprivileged youth, also openly supports and affirms the LGBTQ+ lifestyle to the extent that they participated in this year’s NYC Pride March. Although Chick-Fil-A denies that their change in philanthropic giving had anything to do with pressure from the Left, their choice to drop a Christian organization like The Salvation Army for the Covenant House is very telling.
In response, the Salvation Army released a statement, making it clear that they were disappointed that the fast-food giant would divert funding to other hunger, education, and homelessness organizations. The Salvation Army said, “As the largest social services provider in the world… We serve more than 23 million individuals a year, including those in the LGBTQ+ community. In fact, we believe we are the largest provider of poverty relief to the LGBTQ+ population.”
This statement embodies what the left simply doesn’t understand (or ignores) — an organization or an individual can have a biblical view of marriage and homosexuality and still lovingly serve and care for those who identify as LGBTQ+. In fact, that is exactly what we as believers are instructed to do by Christ. Despite the LGBTQ+’s anti-Christian lifestyle, we are to show every member in that community (or any other community for that matter) the powerful and sacrificial love of Christ (Matthew 5:44).
What we are not to do, however, is to defend the sinful and cowardly actions of any individual or organization that seeks to elevate profit over biblical morals. Unfortunately, many in the Christian community are either in denial or uninformed and have defended Chick-Fil-A’s spineless behavior. Franklin Graham, a popular conservative evangelist, is one such person who came to their defense in a series of tweets.
Despite Chick-Fil-A’s willingness to bow down to the progressive movement, the left is not even close to satisfied. In a statement to CNN, Drew Anderson, GLAAD's Director of Campaigns said, "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." If you give the left an inch they will take a mile, or in this case, if you give them a chicken nugget they will take your whole meal.
We as believers must, when the time comes, give a proper and strong rebuke to anyone that professes the faith yet disregards God’s precepts (2 Timothy 3:16). That time is now concerning Chick-Fil-A, as their puffed up ego has led them to blatantly disobey the Word of God in order to appease the world.