Yesterday, my daughter sent me a link to Target’s new bathroom policy. The liberal company feels so strongly about this issue that they even designed a temporary logo to go along with their statement. You can read about it here.
Now I could say I will never shop at Target again, but I guess we all know what little good that would do. And, honestly, to stop shopping at Target on principal would mean we need to also give up many other of our favorite stores and restaurants. Target is certainly not the only company with a radically liberal agenda. And perhaps I would be willing to make this sacrifice and perhaps you would, too, if we thought it would actually bring some kind of change. Unfortunately, when it comes to retail, the bottom line is that the majority of Christians will not stop shopping at their favorite stores.
But I am having an incredibly hard time wrapping my brain around this:
IF–
transgenders make up .3% of the population (Yes, you read that right– POINT 3)
AND–
Christians make up {supposedly} 70.6% of the population (46% claim to go to church regularly)
THEN WHY–
Do transgenders get preferential treatment and Christians get pushed and shoved around like we have no rights at all?
But I do have a theory about this. Tell me what you think of this–
First, the media is incredibly biased. We see this in mainstream outlets that present liberal viewpoints in a favorable light and conservative viewpoints as ridiculous. We see it in social media outlets such as Facebook and YouTube that censor or curtail the traffic that conservative, Christian, or pro-Israel pages and channels receive. If we watch a lot of news, it is inevitable that our viewpoint will become very skewed. I used to enjoy watching the Today Show. But several years ago I decided to stop watching it. It was like a bowl of really good soup that contained trace amounts of poison. It was a fun show but it was laced with liberal news stories and a clearly leftist agenda. A few months ago, I came across a video that showed how, way back in the 90s, the news outlets carefully avoided showing all the news footage that surrounded one of the big stories of the decade. Certain parts of the reel were left out by all mainstream media outlets, completely skewing the story. Why didn’t they show the beginning part of this story? Because there was an agenda behind it. Bottom line: We Christians need to be very careful where we get our stories. Unfortunately, news does not equal truth.
Second, most people who call themselves Christians aren’t really true Christians. Instead, these people just take the name– probably for a variety of reasons: They desire fire insurance from hell or a golden ticket to heaven; or perhaps it is because it’s how they were raised; or possibly out of some sense of duty or tradition. But they have never repented of their sins and trusted Christ as their Savior. Most people that would take the label Christian do not believe in absolute truth or that the complete Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God. So, in essence, they only carry the label but aren’t truly saved. This means that they are not going to stand and fight something that goes against God’s Word. And, honestly, they really have no reason to.
But that still leaves us with a decent percentage of real Christians in this nation, as opposed to transgenders. So what other puzzle piece do we need to solve this mystery?
Which leads me to my third–and most tragic–part of my theory: True Christians don’t know their Bibles and most don’t care even a bit that they don’t know their Bibles (which does lead one to wonder if they are a true Christian Psalm 1; Psalm 119; John 15). For years now, many have become biblically illiterate to the point of useless when it comes to knowing what the Bible teaches. The blame for this lies at the hands of pastors and church leaders who, over the past two decades, have dumbed down their sermons so much–supposedly to make the lost feel comfortable–that true believers in these types of churches only exist on milk and never move to adult food. Some aren’t even fed milk but are instead given a lethal combination of psychology and philosophy with a few Bible verses thrown in. Blame for this also lies at the hands of parents who have turned their passion from eternal things to temporal things, developing little interest in the things of the Lord in their homes. This lack of biblical knowledge has rendered us completely ineffective and apathetic to sin. We are like the proverbial frog sitting in a pot of water. The water we are sitting in is heating up quickly and, yet, most of us don’t care.
All of this combines to put Christians at a serious disadvantage in this country. Where does this all lead? Well, I have a theory about that, too.
I believe this sexual orientation thing is what Satan will use to drive the true church underground in this country. It’s coming. Can you feel it? The storm clouds that we saw in the distance a few years ago are just about overhead and ready to rain down the wrath of the world on anyone who is a genuine Christian. We have already been labeled “haters”, “narrow-minded”, “homophobic”, “unintelligent”, etc, etc.
Suddenly, verses like I Peter 4:12-14 take on a whole new meaning–
Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. 14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.[d] On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.
and John 15:18-19–
If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
We have had it pretty easy in this country, but I fear that time is coming to a close. The silver lining to this dark cloud is that, finally, we will know who is a genuine believer and who is not. No fake Christian is going to be persecuted for their faith. Of course, the tricky thing is that many of the churches who preach a false gospel use the Bible and the names of God and Jesus. This makes things so massively confusing to so many.
How thankful I am that we can rest in God’s sovereignty in all this. We need not fear, for God is with us. He is living and alive and knows everything. God proves Himself faithful over and over again. He will guide us through these treacherous days and walk with us through the darkness. Our job is to study the Word, serve our King, and to be salt and light in the world.
I will leave you with Psalm 27:1–
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
The transgender agenda is very prevalent here in the UK too. I find myself turning off the radio and TV in frustration as mainstream programmes weave in items or storylines promoting transgender issues. Today it is Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday and I along with many others am thanking God for her servant-hearted reign and her consistent references to Jesus particularly in her Christmas TV broadcasts. We need to pray for leaders in all walks of life who will point people to Jesus. Biblical thinking is so radically out of line with popular culture we have an opportunity to shine light into darkness even if the words we speak seem like nonsense to those who don’t yet acknowledge God. Your posts are always filled with challenge and encouragement for believers, thank you.
Thank you, Alison. I believe this dynamic is pretty prevalent in all of the Western world, not just in the U.S. And you raise a great point: We should be praying for our leaders. I find this extremely challenging to do when they go against all I stand for. You have convicted me today :)
Thank you for this message. I wonder if that new logo will appear on their employee t-shirts? If so, as a Christian, I would be thinking very quickly about my employment there. It is a ‘mark’ of who they follow. There is NO fear of God in their eyes! We need to give Biblical advise to our children who may consider working there as a summer job.
Definitely something to think about!
I have been a born again Christian since I was 18; I am now 53. I have a very large family. I am the quiet one. They are all very loud and opionated. I am and was ‘dismissed ‘ often because I did not speak up. When I do speak up, it is usually to one person at a time because my voice gets railroaded. I believe I am making a difference that way. My family is very different from me, I am very different from them. Do I boycott them because they act differently? or because we disagree? No, they are my family. I still love them. I need them and they need me. While we may not necessarily ‘love’ Target, but, the store chain needs us and we need it. The store itself is made up of employees…people…that work there . They need us to buy their goods, so they can get paid to pay their bills. Jesus did not boycott the tax collectors or prostitutes or othe ‘sinners’: He spent time with them, He loved them. I believe we, as christians, need to show our love, not our condemnation. If they ask or if the subject comes up, then we can tell them why we disagree.
By the way, it was my niece turned nephew that started this whole thing of making bathrooms Transgender friendly and was written up in the New York Times!!! So, I have my own little world to show and share Christ! I’m praying he/she will see the genuineness of love God and I have for him/her, rather than the superficial surface love the world shows only while they are in agreement with him/her.
ps) How do I receive this in my email?
Thank you!
Yes, you do certainly do have your little world to witness to! But I guess most of us do by this time. Life is changing so quickly and there are few families untouched by what is going on in the culture. And, yes, there is something to be said for knowing when and when not to speak to hostile family members and friends. Reminds me of that passage in Matthew about not casting our pearls before swine… :)
Oops! I forgot to answer your question about e-mail. If you look to the right of the posts at the top of the page, you will see a box where you can enter your email. This will get you subscribed, so that you receive new posts by email. Hope that helps :)
We may not be right in this, but we stopped shopping at Target years ago when they first came out with their same sex wedding registry advertisements. And we have stopped shopping at WalMart. And Costco. And Walgreens. And I don’t know where it all ends. I guess it just seems to our family, when you KNOW who and what a company supports and that does not fall in line with the Lord Jesus Christ, we do not feel comfortable supporting that company. God gives us our income. We are stewards of HIS money. Do I want to spend His money at Home Depot who, as a large corporation, is a huge backer of abortions? Do I want to spend His money on Pepsi products or Coke products when both companies fight against traditional marriage and therefore fight against God? I know, we know – that we cannot win this battle. But for us, it makes a difference to not aid the enemy either.
Yes, thank you for sharing. I have been giving this same thing a lot of thought recently. Just because we won’t make a difference, does this mean we should support such evil agendas with our God-given resources? It’s a question we Christians should all give careful thought to.
I have stopped giving God’s money to these companies also. They are not worthy of the time, talents, finances that God has given us. I am sure the places to shop will decrease as time goes by. Perhaps this is our way to prepare for the coming tribulations. If I go without it now, then I will not miss it then.
That is a very valid point! It could be preparing us, if we are willing to make the sacrifice. Some of us tend to be so governed by convenience and our own comfort, that if (or when) the time to do without comes, we will be utterly and absolutely unprepared.
Thank you for your letters. I just found you and have enjoyed reading them. I believe you are right on target no pun intended, with this one. We Christians need to wake up and stand for the biblical truth whatever it cost. We moved to Honduras a year ago. I am thankful God put us where we are. He has a plan for each of us. We serve a mighty God who is in complete control. Things are lining up quickly with His word. Thank you Lord Jesus for your grace
Thanks for your encouraging words :) I agree–things are definitely lining up with His Word. The big mystery to me is just how few believers seem to see it all falling into place just as scripture told us it would…
Beautifully written and I am 100% behind all your points! I am not a perfect Christian, by any means, but a Christian should see that we are/have been fed Satanic propaganda through the media for years even to the point that Christians have become “easy” among these beliefs and thoughts. I believe that one of the major breakdowns is the family. Not as one might think: divorce, promiscuous, etc.; but Christians not willing to tell their children “no” and rear them correctly not making them the center of the family all because it’s harder to do. Also, choosing churches that “entertain” them and their family as oppose to those that are stronger in the Word. Well, sorry for being so long; I’ll get off my soapbox now. Great read! I am new to your blog and love it!
Thank you, Robbie! And I so agree with all your points! If you look around my blog, you will see that I have written about most of those things. In fact, my post before this one was about how we are raising kids today. It has such grave ramifications and yet most people seem to be blithely unaware. In this case, ignorance is not bliss and many are going to pay dearly for this choice :( Thanks for being a new reader! Glad to have you here :)