Lori's thoughts

Has something ever bothered you in such away that you were willing to boycott an establishment, food item, movie, etc. because it conflicted with your religious or personal convictions? Or that it bothers you enough that you are willing to speak out against it to someone?

For instance, I’ve known a family who boycotted Carl’s Jr. because of a commercial that had sexual undertones associated with eating burgers. I’ve had someone who works at Valley River Center tell me there were naked people running around outside of the mall protesting stores that sold animal furs. I know of several movies based on books that have been controversial to people such as Harry Potter and the Golden Compass.

I think we are bombarded with issues daily that we choose to take a stand on or against. I know that sometimes it may depend on how much energy and time we want to take to address an issue. I think we will decide on what we are passionate about to defend and fight for. I think also the issue may depend upon culture relevance, such as the environment and personal convictions.

Some people may choose to never take a stand on anything, because they don’t think it will make a difference or because they don’t care – such as voting.

I think it all boils down to what is the basis of your convictions for right vs. wrong. For instance, I know that God has given parents the authority and responsibility to raise their children in the way they should go – meaning God’s ways from the Bible.

My children are all in high school. They read a weekly high school newspaper and I’ve noticed some of the ads in the paper. One of them has been Planned Parenthood ads that explicitly say “We’re here for you” when it comes to sex education and accessibility of contraceptives. Of course my blood pressure went up and I proceeded to address the issue to the editor about the fact I did not like the way the advertisement usurped my authority and responsibility as a parent. I am here for my children and I discuss sex education (since they were 8 years old) with them. This may not be true for several students, but I did not think it was an appropriate ad. I asked the editor and copied to the principal to remove the ad, because I was offended by it. I have not seen the ad for a few months.

Sometimes I think we need to take action and choose our battles that are most important to us. For me, it’s to stand firm on the things that are important to God. What are those things? It’s on the basis of an eternal perspective and values – people and God’s Word, for they are the only two things that will last forever.