Post by Cindy on Apr 29, 2016 12:24:49 GMT -5
Congratulations, Target: You're The First Company I've Ever Boycotted
On April 19, 2016, the media department of Target department store released a statement saying that they would be allowing those who self-identify as transgender to use the restroom or dressing room that "corresponds with their gender identity."
A firestorm of controversy ensued, chiefly centered on the concern that male predators would abuse this ambiguous and open-ended policy of Target's by self-identifying as women in order to prey upon potential victims in the women's bathroom or dressing room. Bloggers blogged, Tweeters tweeted, and liberals sneered at conservatives for thinking that *gasp* such a preposterous thing could ever happen.
For myself, after thinking about this new policy for a few days, I decided to boycott Target. I am not much of a boycotter. In fact, I've never boycotted a company in my life. So let me explain why Target made a boycotter out of me.
As a Christian, my personal conviction is that Christians are not meant to pound through life, demanding and clamoring for rights, not even American Christians, no matter how much the Republican party or the AFA try to tell us that we ought to. The reason why we mustn't is because the Christian, the true Christian, has no rights. We are slaves who have been bought for a price, and our lives are hidden in Christ, and belong to Him. We're meant to go through our lives lovingly, graciously, wisely, thoughtfully and somewhat circumspectly, with lives that are above reproach, so that we might "shine like stars amidst a perverse and crooked generation" (Phil 2:15). We will never represent Christ as well as we ought to, but we should be striving nonetheless to do so.
This kind of laying down of one's rights should mark the believer who knows, as the Bible teaches, that this world is in the power of Satan, and that true believers will only ever be a remnant. The world is irretrievably broken, and despite the influence of the gospel and transformed lives, the culture around us will continue to spiral into depravity. My thinking this doesn't mean I'm a defeatist, or that I don't think that the gospel is powerful (hold your fire, Theonomists). The gospel message is powerful, and will change and transform the lives of those enslaved to sin. And we must proclaim this message faithfully, that all people everywhere were made by a sovereign creator God who reigns and rules over all things, and Who has a righteous claim on their lives. All people, having been born into sin, are now slaves to their sin. This sovereign creator God, being rich in mercy, has overlooked the sins of man in the past, but He now commands all people everywhere to repent, and to believe on the atoning work of Christ, the perfect God-man, who fulfilled all righteousness on behalf of sinners. Those who do this, will be given new hearts, and new desires, and their lives will be transformed.
Out of these transformed lives will come transformed marriages, and friendships, and relationships. And to some extent, there will also be a sanctifying effect to a small degree on those in our limited circles. But nowhere are Christians told that they will have such a sanctifying effect on the culture that they will be able to "take the culture back," or enforce morality through legislation. Yes, I do believe that Christians should study the issues of their time, and vote their consciences, and seek to put into political office the most moral candidate available, assuming a Christian is not available. But I do not believe that galvanizing the vote or boycotting are all that effective in terms of changing culture. (Please hold your fire there if you disagree. I affirm your right to disagree with me. Peace.)
I used to love America, but I think her best days are behind her, and that we are now spiraling into complete and utter depravity, and that our culture has been given over to a debased mind. A debased mind is the result of those who are so given over to their sins that God has completely lifted his hand of restraint from them, which means that their minds are no longer even able to think in any semblance of coherence. When we look around us at what is happening in America today, and the world, is that not what we see? I hate it that this is the time we live in, and that I must raise children in this generation. But I also know that God has his sovereign purposes, and that He will equip and enable me as a parent, living as I do in this time. I fully admit that I could be wrong about thinking America is too far gone, and if that is the case, I would be overjoyed, thrilled, to see America come back from such widespread moral depravity (thousands of abortions performed annually, sexual promiscuity and perversions encouraged, etc.). Nineveh is one example that I know of from scripture where this happened, after the prophet Jonah preached there, although it should be pointed out that later in Nineveh's history, they did eventually succumb to evil, and were judged and destroyed for it.
ANYWAY.....all that to say, I have never been a boycotter because I recognize that the world is irretrievably broken, and that it is in the clutches of men who reject God, and who wear themselves out pursuing and fulfilling their sinful desires. I think Christians look foolish when they go from boycott to boycott to boycott, seeking to bend the will of a perverse culture to their wishes. The culture is lost. And the corporations at the top of the economic food chain in America don't care about the small minority of consumers who morally don't agree with the policies they make while running their businesses. Over the years, I have shopped at various companies that are run by men (and women) who have awful, terrible, immoral beliefs and practices, and I have done so on the "meat sacrificed to idols" principle. That's simply my personal conviction, and I recognize that there are those who have arrived at different convictions (and thus different choices), and God bless them for thinking through the various views and arriving at their convictions, even if they differ from mine.
My personal conviction for years now has been to put my efforts where I feel they count the most, and that is by quietly loving and serving my husband and children, discipling my children in truth, and training younger women how to study scripture and love their families.
BUT, I am still going to boycott Target. What can I say? There is a first time for everything. I'm boycotting not because I hate homosexuals or those who identify as transgender. I don't hate them. In fact, God's love and mercy and forgiveness is extended to them, and I am deeply burdened that they have been encouraged by this perverse culture to embrace their sexually immoral desires. But there you go, that's the culture we live in. I'm boycotting for safety reasons. I don't want to be in the Target bathroom on the day that a 200 pound man decides he's going to take advantage of Target's liberal new policy, and say "Today, I identify as a woman," after which he would be able to walk into the bathroom with me, and attack me. Or if not me, maybe it's my tiny little petite niece who lives 3 states away who gets attacked. Or my best friend's daughter. Or one of her friends. Or one of my husband's employees. It's just a horrible policy. Wake up, Target. If you won't enforce common sense policies in order to keep me safe, then I'll just go ahead and take the necessary common sense measures to protect myself. And I encourage others to do so as well.
posted with permission:
www.solasisters.com/2016/04/bye-bye-target.html
On April 19, 2016, the media department of Target department store released a statement saying that they would be allowing those who self-identify as transgender to use the restroom or dressing room that "corresponds with their gender identity."
A firestorm of controversy ensued, chiefly centered on the concern that male predators would abuse this ambiguous and open-ended policy of Target's by self-identifying as women in order to prey upon potential victims in the women's bathroom or dressing room. Bloggers blogged, Tweeters tweeted, and liberals sneered at conservatives for thinking that *gasp* such a preposterous thing could ever happen.
For myself, after thinking about this new policy for a few days, I decided to boycott Target. I am not much of a boycotter. In fact, I've never boycotted a company in my life. So let me explain why Target made a boycotter out of me.
As a Christian, my personal conviction is that Christians are not meant to pound through life, demanding and clamoring for rights, not even American Christians, no matter how much the Republican party or the AFA try to tell us that we ought to. The reason why we mustn't is because the Christian, the true Christian, has no rights. We are slaves who have been bought for a price, and our lives are hidden in Christ, and belong to Him. We're meant to go through our lives lovingly, graciously, wisely, thoughtfully and somewhat circumspectly, with lives that are above reproach, so that we might "shine like stars amidst a perverse and crooked generation" (Phil 2:15). We will never represent Christ as well as we ought to, but we should be striving nonetheless to do so.
This kind of laying down of one's rights should mark the believer who knows, as the Bible teaches, that this world is in the power of Satan, and that true believers will only ever be a remnant. The world is irretrievably broken, and despite the influence of the gospel and transformed lives, the culture around us will continue to spiral into depravity. My thinking this doesn't mean I'm a defeatist, or that I don't think that the gospel is powerful (hold your fire, Theonomists). The gospel message is powerful, and will change and transform the lives of those enslaved to sin. And we must proclaim this message faithfully, that all people everywhere were made by a sovereign creator God who reigns and rules over all things, and Who has a righteous claim on their lives. All people, having been born into sin, are now slaves to their sin. This sovereign creator God, being rich in mercy, has overlooked the sins of man in the past, but He now commands all people everywhere to repent, and to believe on the atoning work of Christ, the perfect God-man, who fulfilled all righteousness on behalf of sinners. Those who do this, will be given new hearts, and new desires, and their lives will be transformed.
Out of these transformed lives will come transformed marriages, and friendships, and relationships. And to some extent, there will also be a sanctifying effect to a small degree on those in our limited circles. But nowhere are Christians told that they will have such a sanctifying effect on the culture that they will be able to "take the culture back," or enforce morality through legislation. Yes, I do believe that Christians should study the issues of their time, and vote their consciences, and seek to put into political office the most moral candidate available, assuming a Christian is not available. But I do not believe that galvanizing the vote or boycotting are all that effective in terms of changing culture. (Please hold your fire there if you disagree. I affirm your right to disagree with me. Peace.)
I used to love America, but I think her best days are behind her, and that we are now spiraling into complete and utter depravity, and that our culture has been given over to a debased mind. A debased mind is the result of those who are so given over to their sins that God has completely lifted his hand of restraint from them, which means that their minds are no longer even able to think in any semblance of coherence. When we look around us at what is happening in America today, and the world, is that not what we see? I hate it that this is the time we live in, and that I must raise children in this generation. But I also know that God has his sovereign purposes, and that He will equip and enable me as a parent, living as I do in this time. I fully admit that I could be wrong about thinking America is too far gone, and if that is the case, I would be overjoyed, thrilled, to see America come back from such widespread moral depravity (thousands of abortions performed annually, sexual promiscuity and perversions encouraged, etc.). Nineveh is one example that I know of from scripture where this happened, after the prophet Jonah preached there, although it should be pointed out that later in Nineveh's history, they did eventually succumb to evil, and were judged and destroyed for it.
ANYWAY.....all that to say, I have never been a boycotter because I recognize that the world is irretrievably broken, and that it is in the clutches of men who reject God, and who wear themselves out pursuing and fulfilling their sinful desires. I think Christians look foolish when they go from boycott to boycott to boycott, seeking to bend the will of a perverse culture to their wishes. The culture is lost. And the corporations at the top of the economic food chain in America don't care about the small minority of consumers who morally don't agree with the policies they make while running their businesses. Over the years, I have shopped at various companies that are run by men (and women) who have awful, terrible, immoral beliefs and practices, and I have done so on the "meat sacrificed to idols" principle. That's simply my personal conviction, and I recognize that there are those who have arrived at different convictions (and thus different choices), and God bless them for thinking through the various views and arriving at their convictions, even if they differ from mine.
My personal conviction for years now has been to put my efforts where I feel they count the most, and that is by quietly loving and serving my husband and children, discipling my children in truth, and training younger women how to study scripture and love their families.
BUT, I am still going to boycott Target. What can I say? There is a first time for everything. I'm boycotting not because I hate homosexuals or those who identify as transgender. I don't hate them. In fact, God's love and mercy and forgiveness is extended to them, and I am deeply burdened that they have been encouraged by this perverse culture to embrace their sexually immoral desires. But there you go, that's the culture we live in. I'm boycotting for safety reasons. I don't want to be in the Target bathroom on the day that a 200 pound man decides he's going to take advantage of Target's liberal new policy, and say "Today, I identify as a woman," after which he would be able to walk into the bathroom with me, and attack me. Or if not me, maybe it's my tiny little petite niece who lives 3 states away who gets attacked. Or my best friend's daughter. Or one of her friends. Or one of my husband's employees. It's just a horrible policy. Wake up, Target. If you won't enforce common sense policies in order to keep me safe, then I'll just go ahead and take the necessary common sense measures to protect myself. And I encourage others to do so as well.
posted with permission:
www.solasisters.com/2016/04/bye-bye-target.html
!!
