Should Christians boycott Target?

I read an article the other day that stated over 1 million people had signed a petition to boycott Target, and that Targets stock had dropped by 2.5% which represents a corporate loss of about $2.5 billion, according to the article.

So, does that mean we as Christians should celebrate? Does it prove that we should boycott companies when they publicly embrace, or actively pursue an agenda that does not align with our biblical values? Well, I don't have the answer as to whether or not you personally should boycott Target, but I do think we need to be very careful as to why we might want to.

Jesus came to reveal that He was the Son of God, that He alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. While we were His enemies, slaves to our flesh, driven by our pursuit of passions and lusts, forever condemned to seek meaning in a meaningless life, and ultimately sentenced to eternal hell, Jesus Christ came and lived a perfect life, taking God's full wrath on the cross for us, and conquering death by rising from it, making forgiveness for our sins and our relationship with God possible. This is the good news we have been given to share with the world around us. The very reason we walk this earth as God's children is to be used by God for His glory...and what brings God more glory than when He works the miracle of regeneration in a lost soul through the power of the Gospel?

Question 1: Does boycotting Target serve to further the message of the Gospel, in your home, in your circles at work or church, and in the broader context of the world around you?

Because we are blood bought children of God, we no longer live to server ourselves. Rather, as Paul put it in Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

This means we take on a new identity, our identity is now in Christ. This means our relationship with God, our desire to see Him exalted, and our passion to spread the Gospel, must drive everything that we do. As Christians, we must be very careful not to buy into movements or causes whose purpose is nothing more than to drive home an ideological point, especially through applying pressure or pain. I'm sure there are thousands of people who work at Target who love Christ and are simply trying to make a living. Will this boycott affect them? Probably not, but if it did, would those who partook in it feel like it was a success?

I think it's easy to get caught up in a movement without recognizing the repercussions, or even the impression that is being made. As God's children, we are called to reveal Christ through our selfless love for God and others. This doesn't mean that we embrace sin in our lives, for Christ said if you love me you will obey me, and commanded that we move away from sin and towards righteousness. While we are constantly reminded in the bible to repent and seek God with our lives, He didn't say go out and clean up the sins of those around you in an effort to clean them up.

Question 2: Does boycotting Target reveal your selfless love for God and others?

Finally, I think another danger of getting caught up in a movement without firm conviction of our purpose can cause us to become hypocritical. For example, did you know that Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, and GE are among the many companies that were urging the Supreme Court to legalize gay marriage?

Do we as God's children find pleasure in watching an NFL game on Sunday, even though we know that professional sports ultimately lead to broken families, substance abuse, and usually the sacrifice of an individuals life to something other than Christ?

Have you ever bought an article of clothing because you were pleased with how it made you feel or look, without realizing it may have been made in overseas in unbearable (sometimes deadly) conditions for little pay?

I'm not trying to tell anyone to absolutely not boycott Target. I do believe our lives as God's children must be constantly moving towards God, which includes many times being at odds with the world around us. Jesus promised that would happen. We need to be careful that being at odds with the world doesn't become the cause for our actions, but the result of living by our convictions. If we allow that to be our reasoning, we will take a stand in one area but not another - which may begin to look hypocritical.

Question 3: Does boycotting Target stem from your convictions, and do you consistently live by those convictions in other areas of your life?

You see, we live in a broken world. Choosing to take a stand against the brokenness is a good thing, but we must maintain our focus. Lost souls are in the balance everyday, the Gospel is the only thing that has the power to save them. Identifying/partaking in a movement that does not have the spreading of the Gospel message at its core, that does not stem from selfless love for God and others, and that does not stem from convictions we are willing to hold to in all areas of our life, is dangerous.

Be consumed with love for others, live out the change you want to see, lead by example...and let the glory of God as revealed through the saving of lost souls by the power of His Gospel by your priority in all that you do!

The lost state of many should bother us much more than the social agenda of some. 

By the way, it's hard to share the power of the Gospel if our own lives don't reflect it!

NOTE: I realize there are some that might say the safety issue in the restrooms at Target is the reason for the boycott...to which someone replied "don't use the bathrooms then!'