I’m sure you’ve seen, read, and heard it all… where believers in Jesus Christ are finding themselves on both sides of sensitive social issues.
Every time a boycott is called for, I have prayed, pondered, and sometimes hesitantly, but obediently withheld my pocketbook and added my voice to the millions of others speaking out on the subject. Hesitantly, because in reality, I never feel like I have the time or mental energy to take on another battle. But then, who ever does? There will never be a “right time to do the right thing,” will there?
I want to share some principles gleaned over the years of reluctantly obeying and taking some public stands.
As a follower of Jesus Christ and His Word, I have participated in a number of “boycotts” because the Bible calls us to be the salt and light in this ever-darkening world.
However, if we boycotted every business or person because they weren’t Christ-honoring… well… we’d never buy, sell, go, or do anything anymore, would we? (We’d probably have to boycott ourselves, too!)
{Oh, how I pray that you’ll hear and receive this offered humbly from my heart.}
Some companies have boldly aligned themselves with Biblical principles – and I LOVE and support that! Other businesses align themselves with beliefs and practices that mock and reject what the Bible teaches as Truth – I HATE that and choose NOT to support them.
However, most of the corporations we patronize are neutral in their beliefs… and that’s OK with me, too!
The problem for me arises when those “neutral” businesses cave to a loud minority and jump into the cultural war with their merchandise, advertisements, or financial donations.
While I have dedicated my life to the position that we are to be about sharing the Light and Love of Jesus Christ, when I choose to participate in a “boycott” of a company we normally use and support, it is because I do not want my money to blatantly fund agendas against my beliefs.
My boycott of businesses is not based on what they believe, but on encouraging them to remain neutral in the culture war. Just neutral. Just provide your goods and services, and leave the policy-influencing to others. That’s all.
We don’t boycott simply because the Gospel needs to be made known. Though it definitely does. We boycott because as a collective of people in a noisy noisy world, it’s the one way our voices will reach the decision-makers of these corporations.
However, unless a large enough group of people commit to stand together, what TheArronWilson.com wrote in his article about the Target boycott of several years ago will happen, and the boycott will be more than ineffective… it will be hurtful.
“If all Targets in the South dropped topline sales 3% next month due to Christian boycotts, guess what would happen? Front line employees would get their hours cut to compensate for those stores’ bottom-line figures until things blow over. Do you think a CEO is sweating his six-digit bonus over a 3% decline in a certain cluster of stores for a quarter? Not at all.
But I’ll tell you who does suffer. The single mom or college kid paying his tuition by working the late shift at Target…” TheAaronWilson.com
So what are we to do?
May I offer what I’ve learned so far? Here are six guiding principles when I’m deciding whether or not to join a boycott.
1. First of all, we must pray for discernment and strength. Seek the Lord instead of getting caught up in the media frenzy. Ask God what He would have for YOU to do. James 1:5 tells us that if we ask for wisdom, God will give it, and give it in great amounts!
We can’t, nor should we, join every boycott going on in the world – even those offered by wonderful people and organizations. But we MUST take a stand when the Lord calls us to rise up in His name.
2. When we DO take that stand, as Christ followers, we must do it in humility and in a way that honors Jesus Christ. Oh, the damage we do when we don’t act and react in love. Col. 3:12-17 instructs us in this, especially vs 17.
“And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” (Col. 3:17, NLT)
3. As we are taking the stand, we must humbly let the people (both local and headquarters) know why. This is important. If we simply stop shopping or eating at a certain place, and a boycott is going on, dots may be connected. But if we take the extra few minutes to send an email or make a call, those taking notice of the difference the boycott is making will chalk up our absences to “the cause.” This gives our voices weight in the matter. And our {kind and humble} voices DO make a difference.
4. We must commit to be in it for the long haul. A boycott isn’t an easy, quick fix. Trust me. I’ve participated in my share of them, some lasting years! It will cost us (and our families). We will all of a sudden find ourselves with offers and temptations to go, shop, eat, etc., and we’ll have to make that decision over and over again to say, “No, and this is why.” But every time we {humbly and kindly} add, “this is why,” we continue to spread the message of the boycott, and maybe others will be influenced, maybe others will stand, maybe others’ hearts will be changed… and maybe even a door will be opened for the Gospel to be shared.
It will be tempting to fizzle out, give in, and secretly sneak in and shop, eat, etc., when the media buzz dies down. Many will. This is when step one comes back into play. IF we have sought God’s wisdom and discernment, and IF God is the one who has called us to the boycott, and IF He has not released us from it, then our marching orders are from Him to continue until He changes His instructions. Right? This is how we can press on until the end, when very few others remain in the fight. It will be hard. Just know this from the beginning, and be prepared to stick with it through the strength of the Lord!
5. Know that boycotts ARE effective! I’ve had the privilege to be called to participate in some over the years where when these businesses have seen (through their bottom line) that enough people were serious and willing to put their “money where their mouth is,” they purposefully altered policy, wording, and/or switched gears back to neutral.
Neutral. That’s all we’re asking for.
6. When the boycott is over or suspended (and this is just as important) – we must THANK the business, both on the local and corporate level. Again, in humility and with a Christ-like spirit, we need to use our words and our pocketbooks to show these places that we will support them as long as they remain neutral in this culture war.
The hope is that enough people have stood firmly throughout the boycott so that once the corporation agrees to the boycott’s terms, an increase in sales will be quickly noticed.
As Christ-followers, we know that though this world is not our Home, we have a distinct impact upon it while we are here. 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 (where my SmellingCoffee verse comes from, btw) tells us this:
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us spreads and makes evident everywhere the sweet fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ [which ascends] to God, [discernible both] among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the latter one an aroma from death to death [a fatal, offensive odor], but to the other an aroma from life to life [a vital fragrance, living and fresh]. (AMP)
We are the fragrance of Christ. Sometimes He calls us to remain pleasantly scenting the background, and sometimes He calls us to an up-front-aroma.
To boycott or not? Our answer will lie in our abiding in Jesus through His Word and being obedient to Him as He leads us day by day.
