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Christy Pepple, in Faith News. Mad World News
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January 31, 2014
As we can all recall, Chick-Fil-A was the center of controversy
as they were accused of “forcing their religious views” on others
when president Dan Cathy made his political leanings known regarding gay
marriage. You’ll never guess what the once demonized business is now
forcing on others now – FOOD. Yep, that’s right, food.
According to Fox
News, a local Chick-Fil-A came to the rescue as a rare snowstorm in the
South left citizens stranded on icy interstates and highways,
including Highway 280 in Birmingham,
Alabama. Thanks to the kindness and generosity of the restaurant employees
and owner, Mark Meadows, a good number of stranded motorists were able to find
food and shelter from the storm.
Meadows closed the restaurant and sent his staff home when the
snow started to accumulate, but a few hours later, many returned to the
restaurant, unable to get home due to the weather and road conditions.
Audrey Pitt, store manager recounts her experience, “Our store is about a
mile and a half from the interstate and it took me two hours to get there.
It was a parking lot as far as I could see.” Due to the conditions,
Audrey decided to leave her car on the side of the interstate and joined the
bundled up drivers trudging through the snow on foot. Describing the
scene, she said, “At one point there were more people walking than
driving.”
The staff of the Chick-fil-A, a company founded on Christian
principles, decided to lend a helping hand to the drivers – some of which had
been stuck in their cars for almost seven hours without food or water.
The stranded employees that had returned to the restaurant
cooked several hundred sandwiches and stood out on both sides of Highway 280 and
handed out the sandwiches to anyone they could get to, slipping and sliding as
they braved the falling snow and ice. The best part – the meal was a gift
and Chick-Fil-A refused to take a single penny for the sandwiches.
Stranded drivers were surprised by the free sandwiches and
grateful for the hot meal. Why didn’t Chick-Fil-A choose to make some
extra money during the storm? They had a captive crowd of customers, unable to
go to another restaurant, so why did they choose to give the food away?
Audrey explained, “This company is based on taking care of people and
loving people before you’re worried about money or profit. We were just
trying to follow the model that we’ve all worked under for so long and the model
that we’ve come to love. There was really nothing else we could have done but
try to help people any way we could.”
Birmingham, Alabama Chick-Fil-A owner Mark Meadows
(COURTESY LAUREN DANGO)
Chick-Fil-A’s generosity didn’t stop there. After
delivering the food and even helping drivers maneuver along the icy road by
pushing a car up an incline, the owner and staff took it one step further and
opened up their dining room to anyone who wanted to sleep on a bench or a booth.
This morning, the weary staff members fired up their ovens once again
and began preparing chicken biscuits. The only thing that Chick-Fil-A has closed
is its cash register, giving the stranded motorists another free meal.
Chick-Fil-A played out the biblical values they were once
fiercely criticized for following.
Matthew 25:35 “For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in…”
Will this example of Christian
values receive the same publicity as the others Chick-Fil-A once verbalized?
Unfortunately, it’s doubtful, but for whatever it is worth, Mad World News
applauds Chick-Fil-A for their ongoing demonstration of Christian values. We
hope our readers will give Chick-Fil-A the positive media coverage they deserve
by sharing this story on social media.
