Volume 3 Number 17 September 10, 2008

MarketFaith Ministries is an equipping ministry which is focused on helping Christians become more effective
in living out their faith in the midst of the increasingly diverse worldview environment of modern society.
Introduction

Do you believe that you have a responsibility to direct your money toward places which specifically accomplish the pur-
poses of God? For Christians, that is an easy one. Of course we should. How about this one? Do you believe that you
have a responsibility to make sure that the money you spend does not go toward causes which actively work against the
purposes of God? That one is a bit harder. On the surface, the obvious answer is, “YES.” Why, after all, would we spend
money to undo the things that we are trying to accomplish as we follow God? But the simple fact is, we often end up sup-
porting anti-Christian causes without even realizing it. There are actually companies out there, which you give money to,
which are specifically and intentionally supporting causes which go against our Christian faith. Today’s article helps us get
some perspective on this.

Before getting to the article, though, let me mention a couple of important things. First, the next worldview workbook has
just been completed. It will become available within the next couple of weeks. This one is, “What is the Christian World-
view?” Keep your eyes open for its availability.

(Continued on page 2)

Should Christians Boycott Offending Businesses?

In the early part of the Gulf War, the country music sensa-
tion, the Dixie Chicks, came out strongly against the war
and did it in such a way as to personally disparage the
president of the United States. The backlash against them
by country music fans was swift and dramatic. Their former
fans quit buying their albums, refused to attend their con-
certs, and country radio stations quit playing their music.
They continue to be somewhat popular in certain overseas
venues and in the Northeast part of the US. But their tradi-
tional base will no longer support them and they are not the
“phenoms” they used to be.
This kind of boycott was not one that was called by some
opposing group of people. Rather, the ones who chose to
boycott them did so spontaneously out of their personal
convictions of not wanting to financially support people who
had radically different values concerning the country they
loved.
Some boycotts are spontaneous like that. But there are
those which are organized and planned. For instance, on
the other side of the political divide, there are many liberal
groups which despise Walmart. A big part of this hatred
comes from unions because Walmart is not unionized and
has refused to go in that direction. Another part of the ha-
tred comes from local store owners who are not able to
compete against them in the marketplace. Regardless, of
the specific reason, there are many people who hate this
big box store and boycott it.
Over the last several years, various Christian groups have
called for boycotts on corporations such as Disney, Proctor
and Gamble, Ford, Levi Strauss and McDonalds. Most of
the recent calls to boycott are reactions against organiza-
tions which publicly and actively support issues which are
(Continued on page 2)

Contact MarketFaith Ministries

312 Anton Dr. Toll Free: 888-883-0656
Tallahassee, FL 32312 info@marketfaith.org Phone: 850-383-9756
http://www.marketfaith.org Fax: 850-514-4571

1
(Introduction - Continued from page 1)

The other important item relates to the Worldview Summit for Ministry Professionals to be held next January. The pur-
pose of this summit is to provide pastors and others in ministry with special training on the topic of worldview. We are
still looking for financial support to help us pull this off. It is our desire to provide this training to ministry professionals
free of charge. If you would be willing to donate to this cause, or know of any Christian companies or organizations
which might be willing to help sponsor it, we would greatly appreciate your help. MarketFaith Ministries is a registered
non-profit organization and your donation is tax deductible. You can send your contribution to MarketFaith Ministries,
321 Anton Dr., Tallahassee, FL 32312. Or, you can donate online at the MarketFaith Ministries website at
www.marketfaith.org. Simply click on the “donate” button. And please share this need with your friends. Thanks so much
for your help.

I always love to hear from you. Contact me any time with your thoughts, opinions and suggestions.

God bless,
Freddy

(Boycott - Continued from page 1)

contrary to Christian beliefs – issues such as support of the homosexual movement, abortion, sexual promiscuity among
teens, and the like.

As Christians, we certainly do want to stand up for our Christian faith and for Biblical truth. The question becomes:
Should we, as Christians, boycott business which promote things we don’t believe in and find offensive? Let’s take a look
at the real issues which are at stake and see if we can discover some principles concerning this.

The first principle that comes to the forefront is the concept of Christian stewardship. A steward is a person who is given
responsibility for managing the resources of another. In understanding Christian stewardship, we must recognize that the
owner of everything is God. We don’t have a house or car or job or free money – it all belongs to God. However, he has
entrusted us with the management and use of those resources in order to accomplish his purposes in the world.

So when it comes to spending money, the first priority is not our own desires, but the very purpose of God. That being
the case, we must not only look at what we spend money on, but also who we spend it with. Suppose there is a company
or organization which supports abortion or the homosexual agenda. If we spend our money with them, we are, in effect,
supporting those things ourselves because money that we give to the company goes to help those causes. The issue
that we have to deal with in any particular case is: Do the actions of an organization rise to a level which should compel
us, as Christians, to avoid doing business with them? As we consider this question, let’s look at some of the ways vari-
ous companies and organizations operate in this arena.

As a mater of policy, or for public relations purposes, most companies interact with their communities. They do this by
such things as involving themselves in charitable events, buying advertising or sponsorships in high profile community
activities, giving grants to causes and organizations that they believe in, putting people on the boards of organizations
they want to support, using company personnel and resources to help causes they believe in, and so on.

Many of the causes and organizations which are supported by private companies in this way involve helping charities do
such things as feed the poor, mentor at risk kids, provide resources for handicapped people, build playgrounds for the

(Continued on page 3)

Find these books along with other

great worldview resources at
www.marketfaith.org

2
(Boycott - Continued from page 2)

community, meet the needs of the elderly and other things such as this. And certainly no one has any objection to private
contributions toward these kind of charitable works. In fact, almost everyone would encourage this kind of philanthropy.

But in modern times, many companies are reaching out to support causes which actively and directly go against the work
and will of God. By their advertising and other actions, many companies are promoting immoral lifestyles and supporting
anti-Christian moral and political agendas. In doing this, they are making strategic and intentional decisions to promote
the immoral beliefs of company leaders or to market their products and services among various immoral subcultures with-
in society.

If it was simply a matter of gaining an economic advantage for the company, that would be bad enough. But the promo-
tion of immoral lifestyles has a much wider negative impact. By working toward normalizing immoral behavior in society,
these companies are creating situations which do actual damage to our country and culture. The activities they promote
cause children to stumble, promote a culture of death, promote risky behavior related to physical and psychological
health, make it more difficult for Christians to express their faith by suppressing speech, create a society which is destruc-
tive to its citizens and lead people away from a relationship with God.

At this point we simply need to state the obvious. While every private company has the right to spend its money any way
it wants, active support for anti-Christian causes by these companies reflects an underlying worldview that is contrary to
our Christian faith. In other words, they are actively working against those of us who call ourselves Christians. And if that

is the case, we ought to consider very carefully whether or

not we should support them by buying their products and
services.
For the most part, we are looking at worldview positions
which have their basis in Naturalism. By advocating for po-
sitions which are anti-Christian, these companies are as-
serting that there is no such thing as objective morality.
Rather, for them, the most important issues relate to the
company’s bottom line or the moral proclivities of the
company’s leaders. In either case, the worldview founda-
tion promotes a view that morality is nothing more than
what each person (or company) wants it to be. There is no
acknowledgment of God, and certainly no interest in pro-
moting a form of morality which takes his revelation into
consideration.
At this point, we need to make a decision regarding our
personal criteria for supporting a particular company. Most
of us do this already as it relates to certain areas. For in-
stance, typically we will not do business with a company if
we know them to be dishonest. We will also generally
avoid doing business with companies which we know to
sell inferior products or have bad customer service. Now,
we need to also decide whether or not we will support com-
panies which back moral positions that we find objection-
able.
As Christians, our highest loyalty should always be to
Christ. As we look at our culture, we should be very con-
cerned when we see people or groups promoting that
which is anti-Christian. Our first reaction should be that we
are not going to support companies and organizations
which are actively working against God’s purposes. In ad-
dition to that, we should let our voice be heard. The bad
actions of these organizations are having a negative effect
on the future of our society and our children. They are also
Subscription Information
If you would like to receive Worldview Made Practical as a
free email subscription, simply go to www.marketfaith.org
and click on the sign up link.
Past Issues of Worldview Made Practical are available
free of charge in .pdf (Acrobat) format in the archives at
http://www.marketfaith.org.
PERMISSION TO REPRINT: If you wish to reprint this
month’s article in your own print or electronic newsletter,
please include the following paragraph:
Reprinted from Worldview Made Practical; a free e-zine
produced by MarketFaith Ministries featuring practical
teaching and life tools to help Christians become more ef-
fective in their faith life. Discover MarketFaith Ministries at
www.marketfaith.org.
Support MarketFaith Ministries
The purpose of MarketFaith Ministries is to equip the Body
of Christ to become more effective by sharing the practical
applications of worldview. We are involved in developing
training and resource materials for that very purpose. If
you would like to partner with us in this effort, you may
send your tax deductible contribution to MarketFaith Minis-
tries, 321 Anton Dr., Tallahassee, FL 32312.

(Continued on page 4)

3
(Boycott - Continued from page 3)

having a negative impact on the promotion of the Kingdom of God in the world. Not supporting these companies, and let-
ting them know why, does send a powerful message.

Whether you call it a boycott or simply a determination that you are not going to support companies which are anti-Christ,
you do have a Christian responsibility in this arena. You need to be aware of where your resources are going and what
they are supporting. And you need to make a positive decision that you are going to support the things that serve to ac-
complish the purposes of God.

In the next Issue: Christianity 101