Dan Cathy is a man under fire. So is Chik-Fil-A,
the restaurant chain his father founded. In the last two weeks he has been
vilified by many in the media and portrayed as a purveyor of hate by the
agenda-driven homosexual lobby.
For the record, here is what Cathy said in his interview with The Baptist Press:
. . . as a organizations we can operate on biblical principles. So that is what we claim to be. [We are] based on biblical principles, asking God and pleading with God to give us wisdom on decisions we make about people and the programs and partnerships we have. And He has blessed us.
In other words, Cathy says his
organization is based on Biblical values. Admittedly, there are those who read the
Bible differently than Cathy does. They suggest that a prohibition against sex
outside of the boundaries of the monogamous husband/wife relationship either
cannot be found in scripture, or is out-of-date and thus irrelevant.
They’re wrong.
Scripture is clear on the subject no
matter how one wants to read it.
Discard it? Okay, I get that. I
disagree, but I get it. But you cannot distort part of it or dismiss a portion of it. If you’re
going to throw out the Bible’s prohibition against homosexual acts (or sex
before marriage, or adultery, or pornographic-induced list, or coveting
another’s spouse) then you’re going to have to throw out all of scripture and
not just the parts that are unpalatable to the whims of contemporary society.
Had Cathy left it at that, he might have avoided incurring the wrath of the Muppets.
But here’s what he said that got Kermit the Frog hot under the collar:
We are very much supportive of the family - the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.
We operate as a family business . . . our restaurants are typically led by families; some are single. We want to do anything we possible can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that.
Sadly, Cathy is carrying a burden that better belongs on the
shoulders of pastors, elders and church leaders. He’s getting hate mail and
we’re all just hoping it will go away.
But it isn’t going to.
The scorched earth, shoot-first,
refuse-to-even-engage-in-dialogue tactics of politicians like Chicago Alderman Joe Moreno and activist groups like Equality Illinois have left most of us that stand up to preach on Sundays scurrying for cover.
I get that. Nobody wants one more target painted on his or
her back every Sunday. Truth is, there is enough pressure on pastors without
adding the threat of being targeted by a militant organization that hates you
simply for what you believe.
But Cathy isn’t a preacher. He makes chicken. And he knows
something about pressure, so I am guessing he was just following his internal
moral compass when gave his incendiary interview in which he mentioned homosexuality a total of zero times and spoke favorably of strengthening families and helping business owners
succeed through values-based entrepreneurship.
Call what he said old-fashioned. Out-of-touch. Or even sadly
misguided.
But it is not hate.
It is simply espousing what Cathy (and billions of others on
the planet) believe to be fact – that we are created by a divine being that
defines standards of acceptable behavior for his creation. And that a departure
from those standards (AKA “sin” – of any kind – not just the sexual kind)
results in trouble for the one deviating from God’s plan, and trouble for any
culture that applauds, promotes, and welcomes such a departure.
Cathy isn’t going to wake up tomorrow and decide that
Chik-Fil-A is going to do a one-eighty on this issue. He is principled. His
values and his faith mean more to him than the bottom line and quarterly
dividends. It doesn’t matter how many kissing gays and lesbians besiege restaurants this week, Chik-Fil-A would sooner begin serving sausage burgers
than reverse course.
Militant gays can shut down Chik-Fil-A. The company can
implode, and the protesters can do a happy dance on the ashes of a corporation destroyed by holding fast to its principles. But what will the gay
rights advocates have accomplished? Tens of thousands will lose their jobs.
Millions of chickens will save their skin.
But this chicken isn’t concerned about saving his skin
anymore. Or losing his job for that matter. I’m standing with Dan Cathy and
Chik-Fil-A.
