Why I Don't - and Won't - Boycott

There seems to always be a call for fundamental Christians to boycott this or that in this world.  Recently, there's a call to boycott JC Penney because they hired Ellen DeGeneres to promote their stores.  There's been a call to boycott Starbucks because they support gay marriage rights.  The list goes on.  People who claim to be fundamental conservatives are calling for the boycotts, hoping to change the companies' minds so they can continue to consume their products.  Home Depot was recently targeted for a boycott for one reason or another.

Quite frankly, choose your sin.  These so-called fundamental Christian conservatives have chosen which sins they will "tolerate" and which ones they won't.  What is the overall goal?  To change the companies' behavior so the consumer can feel more comfortable?  Ridiculous.  To enact legislation that will force a retailer to donate and support only those causes we agree with?  Ludicrous.  Look at any retailer and you will likely find something you deem "wrong" about their lifestyle, what they do with their money, etc.  Do we boycott every retailer who does not meet the standard of living we have determined is acceptable?  Do we boycott those who support a gay lifestyle but support the retail giant whose CEO drives while drinking?  Or is into child porn?  How do we decide?   Which sin is worse?

The focus is off in my opinion. I don't boycott. I won't boycott.  Legislation has never won a soul to Christ. Boycotting might work - it might force a retailer to stop (openly) supporting a cause the protesters have deemed inappropriate.  But, they will be legislated straight to Hell because legislation does not win souls.

Jesus Christ, not boycotting, is the Answer to the world's issues.  Jesus did not ask the boy with the fishes where he got them or how his mother paid for them. She may have bought those fish with money she earned through prostitution.  They boy, himself, may have stolen them.  His father may have gotten them by cheating someone or by trading a sex act.  Jesus didn't care. He took the fish and He made them what He wanted them to be. He fed the people.  Their source was irrelevant.

If even half the people took the energy they put into promoting boycotting into sharing the Gospel instead, the world would be transformed and the behavior issues so many Christians are hung up on would no longer be an issue.  We would see revival like has never before been known.  It's the Gospel. It, alone, changes lives. And God has chosen to manifest His Word through preaching (Titus 1:3) - something the world deems foolish. We are the fools if we neglect this great calling to go and preach the Gospel to every creature.  He never told us to go and protest the world's laws.

~Tricia