This past weekend, I watched
one of two of the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Games televised from the Georgia
Dome. My game of choice for the weekend
was the Auburn Tigers, as they begin their 2012 season. It was a full weekend for ardent football
fans and for the Georgia Dome.
The two day event began with Tennessee North
Carolina State Auburn Auburn Atlanta
“This marks the first time in
college football history where two games of this magnitude have been hosted in
the same facility, by the same organizer on consecutive days,” stated the
website.
Hosted by Chick-Fil-A, the game
day weekend also included sponsors such as Coke and AT&T. These are big names and have been such in
football history for some time.
Now, at the risk of being
called names, I want to point out that Chick-Fil-A became the punching post
recently for all those who reject the sanctity of the biblical definition of
marriage. These who protest Chick-Fil-A
advocate same sex marriage and same sex partnerships. These individuals have become so irate with a
statement made by Dan Cathy, on a Christian broadcast, where he stated his
belief in the biblical definition of marriage-one woman and one man-they have
labeled his speech and his business as a “hate group.”
Cathy was doing what any
red-blooded American is allowed to do.
He was exercising his right to FREE
SPEECH. By doing so, he was sharing what
he believes to be the true, only form of marriage protected by the
constitution, and I applaud him for his stand and yes, I agree with him.
While many, many people stood
in line to show their support for Dan Cathy and Chick-Fil-A on an appreciation
day in August of this year, many others decided their course of action was to
condemn him. The condemnation was loudest
among those who labeled the man and his business as homophobic, Christian
extremist and intolerant. While I agree
that you have your right to oppose us for our stand, I am heartbroken that you
would condemn us for taking our stand.
I bring all of this up, because
I wonder how many watched the game on Saturday or attended the game in Atlanta
The company and its leadership
uses their profits to help so many people in ways that are too numerous to
list. Several years ago I read an
interview in a Christian magazine, where Truett Cathy-founder and father of Dan
Cathy-spoke candidly of his faith, family and the future of his business. He was open about his belief in the Lordship
of Christ, the importance of family and his goals for leading a business based
on biblical principles and biblical concepts.
In the interview he also openly discussed his support of the local
church and missions around the world.
No one questioned his freedom
of relating these things then. No one
even fired back on his thoughts and beliefs regarding his speaking out about
his success in business being based on his biblical approach to living a life
pleasing to God. As a matter of fact, no
where did I see or hear opposition. His
words were clear, his thoughts Christ-like and his feelings clear.
Yet, now there are individuals
and groups taking aim at this Christian based business and even in light of
their support for college athletics. It
seems there is a small effort to continue to use this business and its owners
as a “punching post,” as they satisfy their desire for those things which do
not reflect their way of thinking. There
was a call for a boycott at the game on Saturday and a drive in place to
petition the removal of Chick-Fil-A as a sponsor of the Kickoff Game. These are things we have not heard much
about, and I only found them by Googling the phrase “Chick-Fil-A Kickoff
Game.”
While the
war continues to rage and opposition comes against our brothers and sisters, we
as God’s people must continue to stand strong and serve as light in a dark,
despairing world. We are to pray and
seek God’s help and show support to those who stand for freedom of speech and
liberty in this land.
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