Editor’s note – A fast food jingle isn’t where most of us expect to find a warning about the state of our souls, but that’s exactly where this piece starts. The author walks through the mental shortcuts an ad exploits, then draws a straight line from “you deserve it” to the older, truer claim Christ makes on His followers. It’s a short, pointed reminder that our feelings are not a reliable compass, and that the Christian life has always run against that current.
Logan Roy just tried to sell me a McChicken.
I was listening to music on YouTube when his gravelly Scottish voice interrupted to sing the praises of the delicious-tasting chicken and soybean oil mixture.
What inspired me to write was not how committed he continues to be in pitching corporate fast food six years on (quite committed, it turns out), but how culturally on-trend his message was:
“When you crave a McChicken, you deserve a McChicken.”
It’s the quintessential example of how our culture today tells us to think.
Although, this isn’t about simply criticizing the culture. Instead, let’s try and take a sober assessment of the implicit assumptions we encounter in the world around us.
It’s also no slight to any McDonald’s fans among us.
At an earlier time in life, I regularly lived a less appealing version of this same ad. It sounded more like this:
“When you’re a drunk college student walking home past a McDonald’s you should always get at least 3 double cheeseburgers to cap off a night you might not fully remember, but will nonetheless regret.”
That doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, does it?
But I digress. Let’s get back to that McChicken that Logan Roy contends we deserve.
What are the three culturally on-trend tricks that make the pitch effective?
1. The Validation of Feelings as Truth
Our culture prizes autonomy above almost anything else.
We strive to be our “authentic selves” and “live our truth” as we fiercely protect “bodily autonomy” and all other forms of independence as well.
According to Nielsen, “being true to yourself” is the highest form of success for Gen Z.
And being true to oneself means trusting one’s feelings to make judgements and evaluations.
The ad invites people to use emotional reasoning so that “if my body feels like it wants a McChicken, well, I clearly should eat a McChicken.”
Feelings can be valuable signals but are notoriously unreliable as barometers of truth. The question of “is it actually true” gets bypassed when we use emotional reasoning.
And it’s even easier to skip the rational part of our brains when we’re living in our modern “treat culture.”
Editor’s note – Scripture said this long before any marketing team did: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Our feelings are real, but they were never meant to be the final word. That’s an old problem wearing a new drive-through uniform.
2. “Treat Culture”
Most of us realize it can be a difficult time to be alive.
For all the amazing things that those of us in the United States have access to, many Americans also face economic struggles, rampant anxiety, burnout, and unrelenting stress.
When the long-term goals like financial security or a home purchase seem out of reach, many people pivot to small “rewards” to get through the day. In other words, it’s time to treat yourself.
Here’s how the cycle works (or doesn’t work):
- You face a significant obstacle: Let’s take the example of stress over finances, something that 88% of American adults feel in 2026. The macro situation can feel intensely overwhelming.
- You experience stress: Your body responds to the stress, and you feel discouraged and depleted. You feel helpless about the future of ever having financial security.
- Enter the micro reward: It’s time for a little pick-me-up. So you buy something small, like a latte or McChicken.
- Receive Instant Gratification: The purchase and eating experience provides a brief moment of reward. Your dopamine temporarily spikes along with feelings of happiness and validation.
- Yet Reality Remains: Before too long the dopamine hit wears off and you find the real world is stubbornly persistent. When you inevitably face the macro stressor again, the loop repeats.
This might seem silly, but it’s reality.
Treating ourselves to micro rewards can feel like a way to assert dignity and control in a world that may feel restrictive and unmanageable.
The unstated assumption is that it’s more than simply listening to what your body needs. It’s about what you deserve.
Editor’s note – The “treat cycle” the author describes isn’t only about food; it’s the same pattern behind impulse spending, scrolling, and other minor vices many believers know well. Paul told the Philippians he had learned to be content in any circumstance (Philippians 4:11-12), and that contentment is learned, not natural.
3. Leveraging a Simple, Memorable Pitch
We live in a world that is saturated with distractions.
Our attention spans are shorter than ever, and the cognitive effort that is needed for critical thinking often seems to be too much.
In fact, research shows that the effort needed for critical thinking is often too much for us. Rather than taking on the cognitive weight of active reasoning, the human brain can rely on nearly instant emotional processing.
Psychologist Daniel Kahneman called the emotional approach System 1. It’s automatic and fast. System 2 processing is deliberate and logical. And it’s more resource-intensive for our brains.
System 1 is the level where short and memorable ads interact first. System 2 thinking can then kick in and provide a more reasoned perspective.
But if our brains are in cognitive deficit from constant scrolling, short form video content, and endless notifications, System 2 might never engage.
That provides a terrifying thought from cognitive load theory: a distracted brain is more willing to accept something that is simple and false than something that is complex and true.
System 2 is too depleted to speak up about the lack of logical consistency while System 1 makes the decision through feelings.
Editor’s note – Paul’s charge to “be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2) assumes exactly what this section argues: our default thinking needs active correction, not passive trust. The System 1/System 2 language is secular, but the underlying diagnosis is ancient.
Spot the Lie
The illusory truth effect tells us that we’re more likely to believe something if it feels familiar, regardless of whether it’s true or not. In other words, repeated exposure to manipulative advertising can make claims seem believable, regardless of whether they have any truth to them.
The same is true for all of us when we’re caught in algorithmic-induced bubbles that affirm our biases with System 1 thinking, while never challenging our views through a logical argument that would engage System 2 thinking.
The reality is an obvious one to a System 2 brain: in fact, there’s a strong correlation between eating fast food and symptoms of depression and anxiety.
So the thing we should actually do is the thing that “feels” bad:
When you crave a McChicken, you should use System 2 thinking, decide to reject those feelings, and make a choice that overrides your temporary feelings.
This sounds foreign to many of us.
But if we skip the System 2 thinking and use emotional reasoning to accept the lie, we know where it ends.
And until we make the hard, self-denying choice to reject the self-indulgent feelings, we remain in the same place.
The Hard-But-Optimistic Promise
It can be hard to cut back on ultra-processed foods like the McChicken (“fun” fact: did you know the patty is only 53% chicken?).
But learning to ignore the voice that says to indulge leads to a more positive life. That includes reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression, lower psychological stress, more stable blood sugar, and healthier brain pathways.
There’s a blossoming of new life that can come through the denial of self. And here’s the thing I’m starting to see clearly:
It’s similar to what Jesus said about those who would follow Him.
Going back to the Garden of Eden, the Christian faith has consistently maintained that our strongest feelings can’t always be trusted as the source of truth.
Wrapping Up
Emotions are not the enemy.
But they need to be rightly ordered. Because of sin, we have desires that are disordered and need to be transformed in and through Christ.
That’s why the road to human flourishing ultimately goes through truth and obedience, not through following feelings.
It’s a narrow road, and it can often feel like a hard road. But it’s a wonderful road that leads to growing freedom in Christ.
If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. [Matthew 16:24]
A Word from the Editor
Jesus never promised that following Him would feel good in the moment; He promised that denying ourselves would lead somewhere better than any ad can. The McChicken is a small, funny example of a much larger pattern: a culture that tells us our cravings are sacred. Scripture has always said the opposite – that the heart needs redirecting, not indulging. That’s harder to swallow than fast food, but it’s the only road that actually leads home.
Sources and References
1: McChicken patty ingredients: https://www.mcdonalds.com/gb/en-gb/product/mcchicken-sandwich.html
2: Global Gen Z Spending Report – NielsenIQ
3: Survey: Most Americans report stress over finances: https://bankingjournal.aba.com/2026/02/survey-most-americans-report-stress-over-finances/
4: The Decline of Attention Span in the Digital Era: https://sgu.ac.id/the-decline-of-attention-span-in-the-digital-era/
5: System 1 and System 2 Thinking: https://thedecisionlab.com/reference-guide/philosophy/system-1-and-system-2-thinking
6: Association of Fast-Food Intake with Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms among Young Adults: A Pilot Study: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11478624/
7: McChicken patty ingredients: https://www.mcdonalds.com/gb/en-gb/product/mcchicken-sandwich.html
8: Association between junk food consumption and mental health problems in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11167869/
9: What Really Happens to Your Body When You Stop Eating Fast Food: https://www.everydayhealth.com/weight-food/what-happens-to-your-body-when-you-quit-eating-fast-food/
Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words
Distributed by – BCWorldview.org
Editor Comment: Scripture has said since Eden that our strongest feelings make poor judges of truth, and you show how that old warning still applies today. Framing it around a fast-food jingle gives a hard truth an entry point readers won't expect.
This article appeared on Medium and is reprinted with modifications and by permission.