A friend and brother in the ministry, Matthew Riddle, wrote a guest post for me and the readers of Carton Daily News. Its been a long time coming, but, Matt is coming back to blogging again. As soon as he debuts his website, I will post it immediately for all to see. With that, here’s his article and please do feel free to comment here. He wants to know what you guys and ladies think!:
Chi-fil-a has been in the news recently over a controversy. The sad thing is that people in the media (Gov. Mike Huckabee, Fox News, and more) have taken this controversy and run with it. Furthermore many of my friend and fellow followers of Christ have leaped on to this bandwagon. This is not saying that they are bad or anything, quite the opposite. They are very knowledgeable, they want to rally with an organization they they feel shares there believes. What is this controversy you might ask? It the assumption that Chick-fil-a is against homosexual marriage. That the company is taking a stand on the matter. The truth is not as clear as that. In this article we will take a look at the truth and you can let me know what you think.
The Controversy:
Let start with where this all started. It started with an interview with the Biblical Recorder writer K. Allan Blume. In this interview the Dan Cathy the CEO of Chick-fil-a talked about how he runs the business with christian principles (Blume). That is has been this way for years. Which is very true since it founding in 1946 it has operated with christian principles. These include being closed on sunday, giving back to the community, and more. Also in the interview Cathy defend the company support of traditional families, but also for strengthening the family period.
“We operate as a family business … our restaurants are typically led by families – some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that,” Cathy emphasized (BR, Blume).
This statement shows that he would rather the family be traditional but all families are welcomed. This is where it all started the controversy that is.
The fact of the matter this is nothing new for Chik-fil-a. They have always held this stance. They given to many Christian organizations that hold the same views since it founding. So why the controversy because it was misinterpreted. It was made to look like the only traditional families ( mother and father) were welcomed and supported by Chick-fil-a. Which is not true. Granted the the CEO can choose who the company does business with based on his beliefs. Which means that homosexual families will not be owning Chick-fil-a any time soon. This the the direction the CEO leading the company.
The Company
So where does that leave Chick-fil-a as a corporation? That a good question. First here is the official statement from the company.
Chick-fil-A is a family-owned and family-led company serving the communities in which it operates. From the day Truett Cathy started the company, he began applying biblically-based principles to managing his business. For example, we believe that closing on Sundays, operating debt-free and devoting a percentage of our profits back to our communities are what make us a stronger company and Chick-fil-A family.
The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our Restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect –regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender. We will continue this tradition in the over 1,600 Restaurants run by independent Owner/Operators. Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.
Our mission is simple: to serve great food, provide genuine hospitality and have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.
There are many things to point out in this article.
The first the statement shows the main Christian principles that guide the company.
“For example, we believe that closing on Sundays, operating debt-free and devoting a percentage of our profits back to our communities are what make us a stronger company and Chick-fil-A family.”
The second thing is that they will treat ervey one equaliy no matter what, including sexual orientation.
“:is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect –regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender”
The third thing is that the company is not wanting to be apart of the marriage equality act. They will leave it up to the government to choose the fate of that topic.
“Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.”
The last thing is that no matter what kind of person they will encounter they will treat the person with the same respect and dignity across the board.
“Our mission is simple: to serve great food, provide genuine hospitality and have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.”
So now that we have broke down the company official policy let look at there hiring application process. In looking at all the hiring options it states nothing about needing to be a christian to work at Chick-fil-a. There is nothing that states states that you have to be straight either. This goes to show that just cause the CEO of company supports on thing does not meant that every one underneath him does. There are many different types of people that work at Chick-fil-a.
The Facts:
So we know the facts. We now know that Chick-fil-a’s CEO is leading the company to support heterosexual marriage. He uses the money of the company to support other organizations that believe that as well. He personally is not afraid to get involved in the political debate on the issue.
We now know is that the company stand it to treat everyone fairly. To treat all customers with dignity and respect.
With this information we can tell that the views and the leadership of the CEO does not necessarily reflect in all accepts of the business.
So now what:
So now what do we do? As followers of Christ what should we do? That is a very good question. One thing that we can do is respect the wished of the Chick-fil-a company and leave them out of the marriage debate. This campaign of supporting Chick-fil-a on August 1st is something that we should not participate in. Cause it makes Now I am not suggesting that you should not eat there either. What I am trying to say is that the whole situation is out of portion. They don’t want to be a “religious” banner they want to be a company that provides good food to everyone. Secondly we as believers can follow there example with is treating every one with dignity or respect no matter who they are. This is a Biblical principal that not only does chick-fil-a follows it something we all should do.
We need to look at all the facts before we jump on the band wagon. We hear things on the media and we take them at face value. The fact of the matter is that nothing is as black and white as it seems. So let us love and show repeat to every one and let this while thing die down.
So what do you think I would like to hear your response.
Millbank, Dan. “Ckich-fil-A and Mike Huchabee: A Christian Food Fight.” The Chicago Tribune Opinion . The Chicago Tribune, 27 July 12. Web. 30 Jul 2012. <http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-oped-0727-milbank-20120727,0,6897328.story?dssReturn>.
. “Ckich-fil-A:FAQ.” Ckich-fil-A.com. Ckich-fil-A, July 2012. Web. 30 Jul 2012. <http://www.chick-fil-a.com/FAQ
. “Ckich-fil-A:Careers Guide.” Ckich-fil-A.com . Ckich-fil-A, July 2012. Web. 30 Jul 2012. <http://www.chick-fil-a.com/Company/Careers-Guide>.
. “Ckich-fil-A:Closed on Sundays.” Ckich-fil-A.com. Ckich-fil-A, July 2012. Web. 30 Jul 2012. <http://www.chick-fil-a.com/Company/Highlights-Sunday>.
