Last Monday night was Chick-fil-A’s annual Daddy Daughter Date Night. I took my 7 year old daughter to enjoy the chicken, waffle fries, and time together. When we arrived at our local Chick-fil-A, the tables were set with fresh flowers, pink and blue place mats, pink table cloths, and red heart-shaped balloons. The place mats were printed with conversation starters such as, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” and “Describe your favorite family vacation.” Chick-fil-A’s desire to promote strong families as one of its core values is unusual in a day of what seems to be “profits at all cost” and shows how corporations can influence culture by promoting important values.
Many corporations choose to avoid issues which might be considered even slightly offensive. Most of the Fortune 500 corporations spend a large amount of energy showing how inoffensively “green” they are or describe their committed support for the non-controversial Habitat for Humanity. Occasionally, corporations are bold enough to take a position on issues that might cost them support. This is where corporations show leadership in the culture. Of course corporations don’t always lead in the right direction. Playboy’s support for legalized abortion has led to the death of millions of unborn babies. Hobby Lobby has chosen to fight for religious liberty rather than accept the HHS mandate requiring them to cover abortion-drugs to their employees. Chick-fil-A has chosen to use its resources and influence to support strong marriages and strong families. One might take that as non-controversial, but as we saw several months ago, making a statement about the limitations of marriage being established by God can earn you the label of bigot.
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