Within walking distance of my office is what some call a little piece of heaven. For many there is no better fast food option than Chick-fil-A.
It took a long time for the Atlanta based company with well know Christian values to bring their iconic sandwich and over the top customer service to the great state of Minnesota, but when they arrived, they thrived. The Gopher State now boasts 20 CFA locations.
But not everyone likes Chick-fil-A. I don't mean the sandwich or the waffle fries, they despise the brand. Infamously, some college campuses and even municipal governments have attempted to banish Chick-fil-A from their little kingdoms.
Earlier this year, the San Antonio, Texas, city council banned Chick-fil-A from opening a new restaurant at the San Antonio International Airport. Defending the vote to exclude Chick-fil-A, Councilman Roberto Trevino said, “San Antonio is a city full of compassion, and we do not have room in our public facilities for a business with a legacy of anti-LGBTQ behavior.”
What is Chick-fil-A’s anti-LGBTQ behavior? In 2017, the Chick-fil-A Foundation gave $1,653,416 to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, $6,000 to the Paul Anderson Youth Home, and $150,000 to the Salvation Army. At the time all three non-profits promoted a biblical understanding of gender, sexuality, and marriage.
But that changed this week.
Moving forward the Chick-fil-A Foundation will no longer make financial contributions to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes nor to the Salvation Army because these are “two Christian charities that are known for their history of opposing LGBT rights.”
So to be clear, the next time you drop some coins in the red kettles at Christmas time to support the “largest social services provider in the world,” you too are promoting the opposition of the LBGTQ community.
But this column is not about Chick-fil-A. An Internet search will produce for you a wide array of opinion pieces and commentaries questioning Chick-fil-A’s decision. This column is about you and your commitment to Jesus Christ.
The Bottom Line
Jesus taught us that the system of this world is not the friend of his followers. In fact the system hates those who are committed to Jesus (John 15:18-20). If you are a Christian committed to the teachings of Jesus, they will say things about you that are not true. They will hunt you down and eliminate you (Matthew 5:11). They will not stop if you compromise with them. They will not negotiate a settlement. Satan has one objective: to utterly destroy every Christian and every expression of the name of Jesus.
The bottom line in business is the bottom line. I’ve neither read nor heard from any executive at Chick-fil-A articulating their rationale for the change in their charitable contributions. Chick-fil-A exists to sell as many chicken sandwiches as it can. If making contributions to The Fellowship of Christian Athletes and The Salvation Army poses a risk to the bottom line, then the bottom line wins.
So, here’s the bottom line for Christians: the cost to follow Jesus is going up every day. If you claim the exclusive teaching of Jesus, you will pay a steep price for your singular allegiance to him. If you adhere to truth presented in the Bible as the only truth by which humanity must live, you will adhere at a cost, a cost that is increasing with every passing day. This is the new normal for following Jesus in Western Culture.
Nothing New
While we in the United States are facing this in ways we’ve never faced it before, those faithful to our Lord have experienced this since the expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Abel died for his obedience to God. Joshua declared, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” The exiled Hebrews stood tall and told Nebuchadnezzar, “We do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”
What will you do? Will you determine today you have no king but King Jesus? What price are you willing to pay to follow Jesus? Is there a price point where you say that’s too steep for me?
By God’s grace when faced with disapproval for following Jesus, we will reply, “My pleasure!”
As always I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.
Mike VerWay
Pastor for Preaching & Vision