My article from this week's newspapers:
Is it acceptable
for Christians to patronize a business whose owner’s behavior outside of work
conflicts with their morals?
Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the
Western Church is in the midst of emerging from several centuries of
Christendom—where the Church, the government, and the culture formed a unified
front which suppressed dissent and all three enforced conformity to the same
standards—but it seems those who desire to live out a Christian ethic are
mystified about how to live in a world where they must interact with people who
are different from them.
I remember the days not too long ago when boycotts were
all the rage among Christians and there were whole organizations and
publications that seemed single-mindedly devoted to announcing on a monthly or
weekly basis which companies should be the targets of Christian boycotts and
which had conceded to an extent that it was now acceptable to do business with
them.
It seems to me that this approach has some very serious
flaws. Most importantly, it fails to
acknowledge that all of the people with whom we engage in transactions on a
given day are sinners and every business we patronize is owned by a
sinner. In order to avoid financially
supporting sin, the only option left for Christians would be subsistence
farming, because they wouldn’t even be able to do business with one
another.
Additionally, it improperly prioritizes sins so that
those which are most emotionally-charged draw more attention while those that
are actually more serious go unnoticed.
For example, so many calls for a boycott have to do with sexual ethics,
while I have never seen a call to boycott restaurants which display Buddha
statues or convenience stores with a painting of the Hindu god or goddess
behind the counter.
A quick survey of the New Testament finds that there
are, indeed, several instances where the believers are called to be separate or
avoid certain others. However, closer
examination finds that these are always in the arena of church fellowship. They are called to be separate from those who
worship other gods and to avoid those who teach false doctrine. These calls never involve the Christian’s
dealings in business or in the world.
Instead, on the one occasion this is addressed, Paul
answers quite differently. Upon being
asked whether it was acceptable for Christians to eat meat sacrificed to idols,
Paul tells the Christians not even to ask where the meat came from when it is
served to them, because an idol is really nothing at all. He encourages them that they should feel free
to eat, with the one exception that they should refrain in the presence of a
weak or uninstructed Christian who might be caused distress by their doing so.
When choosing a congregation, calling a pastor, or other
spiritual matters, caution and thorough examination of these things is
certainly in order. Of course Christians
should avoid the book sale or benefit where the explicit purpose is to raise
funds for harmful and immoral causes. And
these questions might need to be asked regarding services where the spiritual
beliefs of the practitioner are relevant, such as psychological
counseling. But, in everyday commerce,
we are called to engage the world, not to hide from it.
So, instead of investigating which political party your
banker donates to, spend your time comparing rates and services. Instead of grilling the kid making your
sandwich what he did or did not do on his date Friday night, ask him if it
comes with mustard. Instead of
concerning yourself as to your barista’s lifestyle choices, ask her about the
new flavor, how college is going, or maybe even invite her to church. That is the Christian way to do
business. And pay less attention to what
television personalities’ positions are on the grazing rights of endangered
mountain goats and ask if their show makes you laugh (or cry, or whatever it is
you’re looking for) and watch accordingly, rather than demanding that they keep
or lose their job based on whether they agree with you.
For a business whose owner is working to make a living
by providing a respectable product or an ethical service, the Christian’s
concern is not what they intend to do with the profit from the business or what
causes they support after hours, but whether they provide a good product or are
skilled at their trade. After all, if
Christians were to hide from the world in closed enclaves, how would those
still needing the truth about Jesus ever hear it?
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