There's a frustrating trend in the world right now...boycotting. "I boycott them because they take this _____ political stance!" "I can't stand that company, so I'm boycotting them for _____reason." - you get the point. Today, I saw several of my Christian friends post an article titled "Chipotle Tex-Mex Chain, Founded by Open Homosexual, Promoting Sodomy in Pride Parades Nationwide".(an article from over a year ago) And I just wanted to say "so what? Are you going to stop eating burritos because of one man's support/opinion on something?" Well, these friends are pulling the "Bible route" on things. In the Bible, it does mention homosexuality as a sin, in both testaments, with great emphasis on how bad it is. Ok...that's fine...it mentions a whole lot of other bad sins too...and that all sins are equal in the eyes of God.
Let me explain...
You will NEVER find a company that agrees with you politically, economically, socially, and religiously. You just won't...
To the Christian who says "there's nothing wrong with Chick-fil-a...they are great in all those areas!" I beg to differ...God says to treat your body as a temple in the New Testament, with strict dietary rules in the Old. CFA has both MSG and aluminum in their standard and spicy breading...they have pesticides and/or GMO's in most, if not all, of their food...even their salads aren't "good for you"...so this company is in direct disregard for the Scriptures...and essentially you sin by supporting them, right? Many of the large farms that the produce comes from basically have slave labor, and the Bible says to treat your servants well...doubt that is happening...and to take care of the land...GMO's have caused way more pesticide use and have damaged lands, farmers, the farming industry, cause excess waste and pollution, etc....commercial farming of chicken produces huges amounts of waste and pollution...you get the point...
Many companies like Gap, Ford, Citigroup, Johnson and Johnson, and MANY MANY others support the right to chose abortion...you, faithful Christian, have you looked up all of those companies and boycotted them as well? In your opinion, abortion = murder, so you are supporting murderous companies by your actions....
Target and Starbucks and many other companies support gay rights....did you stop patronizing them? I love both those places and could care less about their social/political stance...because they have clean stores, good employees, good benefits, and treat their customers well...more than I could say about Walmart and Dunkin Donuts.
And then there's the issue of the local front - do you ask your server at a restaurant, or the cashier at the grocery store, or the manager of wherever you are, what all of their political and religious beliefs are? Because, I am 100% sure, they won't line up with every detail of your's. And you, by your patronage, are supporting them...(P.S. Please PLEASE tip your server...they make substantially less than minumum wage...20% is a standard tip...and if they did a million things for you, throw them an extra buck or two...they worked hard for all those little details to come together.) So are you making sure your server is not gay, adulterous, fornicating, stealing, lying, murdering, honoring their parents, having no other gods before the Lord, etc.?
And most things in America are often "Made in China"...China is polluting the Earth at a rapid rate, is in political turmoil, martyring Christians, terrible working conditions in the factories, force abortions on pregnant women, etc....so don't buy anything made in China either...
Now, back to Chipotle. Personally, I think it is a bit immature to single out the particular issue of homosexuality and come down so hard on them for this(when it is obvious, every company you patronize will have some flaws somewhere...whether it be child labor, bad pay to the workers, bad effect on the ecology/economy of the area it is in, etc)...when almost two years ago, you were proudly supporting Truett Cathy and his Biblical stance on marriage...and how this was America, and you have the right to believe what you believe! Indeed, we do. So does Mr. Ellis of Chipotle. Chipotle DOES have some really great values...like treating their animals and farmers really well, using local and/or organic produce when possible, treating their workers well(their turnover rate is really low at the restaurants I patronize), good value for the food - giant meals for a decent price...and when all is said and done, maybe a penny or two is going to the thing you just cannot support...
Christians are most often criticized for being hypocrites. And rightly so...ALL humans are hypocrites at SOME point in their life. We just happen for be very vocal about certain things, while completely neglecting others. Jesus specifically said to pay attention to the log in your eye before the splinter in someone else's. Paul also said not to judge the unsaved, because that is God's job...
If I had a business, with a good product, for good value, with mostly "good principles", and someone did not use me because I go to church, how upsetting would be that be? I know that members in every church have differing ideas...you may not agree with everything your pastor or deacons say or do, or what their secretaries say or do...but you still give the church money, and pay their paychecks, essentially.
You aren't going to agree with everything, or be completely ok with where your money goes...stop stressing about it, and enjoy the life that you're given. If you feel really convicted about it, then ok, stop giving money to something...but realize you're picking and choosing and probably supporting another company somewhere else that is doing the same thing, and you simply don't know about it. There are much more productive things you could do...write an email to the company, pray for the leaders of the company, keep patronizing those places, and be a good example of a Christian that is loving people, no matter if you agree with what they're doing. It is quite possible to love someone while disagreing with their behavior. I'd rather not split hairs over one thing or another...Christ partied with tax collectors and other unsavory folks...He took on the uneducated and lowly fishermen...He didn't boycott them...
