Friday, August 24, 2012
Where would Jesus shop?
I believe homosexual relationships are Biblically defined as sin.
Why, then, will I, a Bible-believing Christian, not stop shopping at The Home Depot, JCPenney, Belk, Target, or any other company that supports homosexual couples?
The answer is quite simple, really: I believe it's what Jesus would do. Jesus spent his entire life living among sinners. He didn't sin with them, and he didn't celebrate their sin, but he didn't avoid them. Jesus never expected sinners to act like saints. He walked into the midst of sin, and he loved sinners.
Moreover, if I stopped shopping at every store that gave to sinners' charities or that depicted sinners in its ads, I would have to become quite adept at hunting and gathering in order to survive.
Sure, I understand that while homosexuality is no different from any other sin on God's scale, it is surrounded by a unique cultural context. No festivals are held for liars' pride. And clothing catalogues do not depict models with the caption "yes, we're cleptomaniacs." Homosexuality is among a very few sins that are loudly celebrated and openly supported by whole sectors of society.
BUT...
I wonder how much of the blatant celebration of homosexuality in our society is encouraged by - if not caused by - the Church's insistence on marginalizing those for whom Satan's sin-of-choice is homosexuality. When it comes to homosexuality, we have done exactly the opposite of what Jesus demonstrated.
Jesus came to bridge the gap between sinners and a holy God. He calls us, his followers, to do the same.
How, then, can I justify avoiding sinners to make some sort of statement about my faith? What statement am I really making when I refuse to shop at a store owned or managed by sinners? I think this statement is one that pushes sinners away and widens the gap between the world and the Church.
My choice, based on my view of my purpose as a Christ-follower, is to continue to consume as usual when Christian businesspeople stand for their beliefs AND when pre-Christian businesspeople do what pre-Christians do: sin.
I choose to follow Christ in bridging the gap between sinners and a holy God.
As always, I welcome your comments.
-mo
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2 comments:
Well, I see your point, but I feel that if an organization (business or otherwise) outwardly supports what I know to be sin, I should not support it. If an organization outwardly stated that they support lying as a way of life or adultery or stealing or any blatant sin, I have a hard time wanting to contribute to that organization and help it continue to exist.
The Bible even teaches that if a Christian is living in blatant sin and won't listen to his brethren's attempts to bring him back in, then we should stop treating him as a brother (Matt 18:15-17). It is interesting, though, that in 1 Cor 5:9-13, Paul talks about sexual immorality in the church and tells us not to associate with one who calls himself a brother but lives in immorality BUT he says he is NOT talking about non-believers. He says we would have to leave the world to stop associating with non-believers who are sexually immoral!
It is hard to think of a huge organization in the same way as an individual. Right or wrong, if a small store owner came out in support of some type of immorality, perhaps I could see doing business with that person so as to have a door to witness. A large impersonal entity such as a mega-business doesn't have that same "feel". That is probably an incorrect way to see it. The big organization is made up of individuals, but it just seems different.
Where do you find time to do all this blogging? Wow, I'm behind in reading it all. I've got to catch up!
Well, I caught up with your blog...fortunately a lot was just pictures and captions. I enjoyed it all!
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