While Truett Cathy has feed millions of people chicken sandwiches over the years, most close to the restaurateur says feeding souls brought him the greatest joy.

“Nearly every moment of every day we have the opportunity to give something to someone else – our time, our love, our resources,” said Cathy. “I have always found more joy in giving when I did not expect anything in return.”

Cathy exemplified that he practiced what he preached by forgoing his salary when times got tough during the recession of 1982. 

In the Bill Graham Evangelical Association’s magazine Decision, Cathy explains, “Too many CEOs are leaving sinking ships. They should be the last ones to leave the company. If some people are losing money, everyone should lose money, not just the stockholders.”

Dr. Jim Denison, Ph.D of the Denison Forum on Truth and Culture says it would be a disservice to simply describe Cathy as a “rags-to-riches” success story.

“Here’s what Truett Cathy’s decision proves,” Denison wrote. “The more difficult our obedience, the greater our reward.”

While Mr. Cathy has sold more chicken sandwiches than most can comprehend, Denison adds there is great paradox in his decision to be closed on Sunday. 

“He witnessed to the Lord’s priority in his life every Sunday, to every person who drove past his closed restaurants. He touched more people by that one decision than many pastors will reach in a lifetime.”

Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

Russ Jones is co-founder of Christian News Service, a content creation and news distribution firm. He’s also a media consultant to a number of cause oriented campaigns and organizations. Russ has been a guest on such programs as the Mike Gallagher Show, the Dennis Prager Show, Bill Martinez Live and Sandy Rios in the Morning. He holds degrees from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a master’s degree from St. Paul School of Theology. He is married to Jackie and together they have four children.

Slideshow based on the article “5 Things Christians Need to Know about Chick-fil-A Founder Truett Cathy.”

Publication date: January 23, 2018