It’s a fairly typical response today, whenever someone doesn’t like what some government or company has done, for people to call for a boycott.  Movie content.  Governments at war.  Bathroom rules.  An unpopular change in policy.  I could go on and on, but I’ll save both of us angst and heartburn, let alone politics (and FYI, I’m neither supporting nor opposing any of these specific governments/companies in this post – that’s for you and God to figure out).

I’ve even been tempted to do it.  A couple of years ago, a Christian organization did something I felt was wrong – and with bad intentions and motives.  I’d often used their website, but now I wanted to boycott it or at least stop supporting them with visits to their site.  But God told me, “You can’t do that.” I had to be content with it.

When we boycott a company or country, we feel like we’re doing some good.  And sure, we’re making a stand for what we believe.  But more often than not, it’s more of a hissy fit than effective – chances are that fast food chain doesn’t really care whether or not you eat there ever again.

Are we really being loving with our boycotts?  Or are we trying to prove to ourselves that we have a belief that we can shove in other people’s faces?  Are we demonstrating Christ’s love and acceptance, or are we demonstrating our heart’s stance of, “I hate you because of [your nationality/political stance/social stance/etc.]?”

For example, a friend is a specific nationality.  He’s been banned from several American social media groups in recent weeks because of his citizenship.  (I kid you not, and I expect some of these owners would consider themselves ‘Christian’ in one sense or another of the word.)  The owners of these groups feel that they can make a stand for their beliefs by banning people under certain governments.  It’s good of them to boycott and stand up for their beliefs… right?

Let me remind you very briefly that we live in the United States of America.  We’re granted freedom of speech, and we’re allowed to shop where we want, when we want (within reason) and have whichever friends we want.  There’s nothing illegal in any of this.  The question is whether we’re using our freedom or whether we’re abusing others with our freedom.

There’s a time to stand up for what is right vs. what is wrong.  But I’m wondering if it’s really worth doing so in such a way that it only ends up hurting the people Christ loves (and He does love them, even if they – or their government – are “wrong” on various topics).  Perhaps we need to learn love in such a way that we can stand firm while still reaching out like Jesus on the cross – “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).  Is being right really more important than “accept[ing] one another, just as Christ accepted you” (Romans 15:7)?  It’s through accepting others that we bring Glory to God (same verse) – not by throwing a hissy fit over a company’s policy change.

So I’m not telling you to quit boycotting.  There are certainly companies whose products I rarely if ever consume because the product, itself, isn’t something I feel is healthy for my faith.  Instead, I’m asking you to think through your boycott before doing it: 1) Is it really going to have the impact you intend, 2) Is boycotting going to help you in some way, and 3) Is boycotting going to hurt innocent or at least unrelated people?