Firstly, I must congratulate the organizers of this boycott, not for the boycott, but for the ability to live what they believe. It takes a lot of time and effort to organize something like this and they have sacrificed in order to do that. They have prioritized it in such as way that they are willing to give up other things in order to see their vision accomplished. Do you have that drive and vision? Are we all talk and no action? What can we learn from these passionate and motivated people?
Secondly, this situation reminds me how important it is to know what we believe. How can we really be passionate about something that we are half-hearted about and don't really understand? What drives you and makes you reorganize you schedule in order to achieve it? It is sport? Is it TV? Is it relationships? Is it God? Whatever it is will already be evident in your life, you just need to think about it. This is where worldviews are so critical. Who influences you day to day? Is it your friends, family, work mates, soccer mates, etc? Do they believe what you believe or have different priorities in life? Our worldview can not only come from our community culture but also from the sub-culture of our acquaintances. Chose your friends wisely. Surround yourself with people who you want to learn from and become like. I believe this will help us focus more on what is most important to us and put words into actions.
Finally, do we know what we believe is right? We can be the most passionate person in the world about something but if it is wrong or incorrect, we are wasting our time and energy! How do we know if something is right or not? How can we be sure? Is it based on emotions? Experience? What someone else said (like a pastor or your dad)? Do we really understand morality, where it comes from and how we apply it? In a post modern world, the worldview that is pushed on us tells us that what is good for me is right. Our western culture would have us believe that we write the rules for what is right and wrong in MY life. Is someone else opposes me, that might be ok for them but it is not for me. My conclusion to this post modern view of truth is that is is self-defeating. That means that if everything is true for each person, then nothing is wrong or false. If nothing ceases to be wrong, truth no longer exists. For truth to exist, it must be exclusive and disqualify certain things. This is not a bad thing as many people want us to believe.
I personally believe that we have a moral or natural law that transcends mankind. We do not get to make it up or change it. It is given to us by someone transcendent or outside of our realm (I believe God). As I have traveled through many countries and met many people I have seen evidence of this. Morality crosses culture without a doubt. Why is it wrong if someone was to kill you, steal all your belongings, or rape you? All men carry a conscience but some chose to destroy it through perversion and self desire. My desire is to seek this morality so that we can live in a healthy community together. There are many things in this world that threaten our community and it is those immoral issues that I want to guard against.
Can I challenge you today to ...
#1 live out loud prioritizing what you believe in
#2 know what we believe and be able to defend it passionately and well against criticism
#3 make sure what we believe and proclaim is truth!
Who is with me? Ayo!
P.S. - After trying to understand why people are trying to boycott Gloria Jeans coffee on their FB page (https://www.facebook.com/BoycottGloriaJeans) I initially had posts deleted and finally they banned me and deleted all my posts, none of which were malicious or unreasonable in nature. All I asked them was why their cause was morally sound and why they could ethically promote a public boycott of a company that did nothing legally or morally wrong. Be sure to visit them and continue the accountability. Please be respectful though friends.
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