After thinking about Target’s new policy for a few days, Christine Pack of Sola Sisters* has decided to boycott Target. “What can I say?” stated Christine. “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.” Christine has decided to boycott for safety reasons. “I don’t want to be in a dressing room or bathroom where a 200 pound man built like a linebacker might decide that he is 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.”
So now to Christine’s piece…
On April 19, 2016, the department store Target made the following statement:
“Recent debate around proposed laws in several states has reignited a national conversation around inclusivity. So earlier this week, we reiterated with our team members where Target stands and how our beliefs are brought to life in how we serve our guests.
Inclusivity is a core belief at Target. It’s something we celebrate. We stand for equality and equity, and strive to make our guests and team members feel accepted, respected and welcomed in our stores and workplaces every day.
We believe that everyone—every team member, every guest, and every community—deserves to be protected from discrimination, and treated equally. Consistent with this belief, Target supports the federal Equality Act, which provides protections to LGBT individuals, and opposes action that enables discrimination.
In our stores, we demonstrate our commitment to an inclusive experience in many ways. Most relevant for the conversations currently underway, we welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity.
We regularly assess issues and consider many factors such as impact to our business, guests and team members. Given the specific questions these legislative proposals raised about how we manage our fitting rooms and restrooms, we felt it was important to state our position.
Everyone deserves to feel like they belong. And you’ll always be accepted, respected and welcomed at Target.” (online source)
A firestorm of controversy ensued, chiefly centered on the concern that male predators would abuse this ambiguous and this open-ended policy of Target’s by self-identifying as a woman in order to prey upon women. 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 starts 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.
* Update from Berean Research: While we believe the above article is factual and attributed correctly, we can no longer recommend this author as a biblically sound source for any Christian information.
Related:
Transgender Activists Put Ideology Above Safety and Well-Being of Young People By Peter Sprigg
Rights are relative. But we have God given duties. As Christians, it is our duty to…
1. Obey God rather than man. (when a contradiction exists) Acts 5; 29
2. Represent Christ through our Christian living in obedience, holiness, reverence, loyalty, and sanctification; be a good witness and example to others.
3. Follow all of God’s commands, sure it won’t be perfect but He gives us the power and strength to love our neighbors, enemies, one another, etc.
4. Share the Gospel, (see: Great Commission in Matt. 28)
Whatever ‘rights’ are acknowledged in the given society are irrelevant to our duties as Christians, which we must obey regardless of the world’s laws, ensuing persecution, etc. if we are to honor God.