This Christmas, Don’t Shop at Stores Funding Planned Parenthood

Opinion   |   Susan Michelle Tyrrell   |   Dec 4, 2012   |   2:46PM   |   Washington, DC

It happens every year about this time—scores of Christians start boycotting stores who have replaced “Merry Christmas” with “Happy Holidays.” This year it strikes me as a somewhat hypocritical act for many of the people who will respond to these lists with ire.

Of course I say “Christmas,” and I appreciate when places do, and I appreciate lists that tell us which places have made an effort to do so, but I don’t really expect them to say it. Really, it’s pretty demanding of me to expect the Muslim-owned franchise to tell me to celebrate Christ—they just better not insult Him, you know? This is the other side of freedom of religion—allowing everyone to practice theirs but not infringe on mine. Really, it doesn’t matter that much to me what words a non-believer says as long as they conduct ethical and honest business and do what they say they will deliver. American businesses don’t have national contracts with the church, though I am right there smiling when a random secular business employee tells me “Merry Christmas.”

I refer you to my above comment of my real expectation of business conducting themselves ethically and honesty. That means I expect businesses to not fund the execution of the unborn. I don’t give a rip what religion a person is—killing a baby is wrong. And any business funding Planned Parenthood is helping to supplement the death of babies.

Planned Parenthood is a national organization and some of its affiliates do late-term abortions; therefore, even if a few people want to argue if a 6-week old “fetus” is a life (it is, scientifically speaking a 6-week old baby has had unique DNA for 6 weeks and a heartbeat for three), only a few radical extremists dare to declare a 28 week old one isn’t a baby—28-week-old babies survive outside the womb every day.

All of that is to say that while I don’t think an American business has an obligation to wish me a happy religious holiday, I do think it has an obligation not to partake in the killing off if its future customers in the name of women’s health.

You see, that’s my issue with the posts this year. Calling businesses anti-Christian and declaring we will boycott them for not being Christian by, essentially, saying “Jesus,” is probably something that appeases our boiling religious blood, but it doesn’t really help the shedding of innocent blood.

Many of the people who are furious with department stores and retailers casually shop places that are openly abortion supporting or who regularly appear on Planned Parenthood funding lists.

KROGER STORES IN TEXAS

In Texas, patrons of Kroger stores have been able to sign up with a sheet like this which allows them to donate a portion of their proceeds to Planned Parenthood. This particular example benefits the Gulf Coast region where Planned Parenthood operates one of the nation’s biggest late-term abortion facilities in its Houston office. However, Kroger, who partners with their customers to fund the nation’s largest abortion provider, is also listed on the pro-Christmas list.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You see, if we judge a company by words it says for one month every year but not by actions expressed all year, we really are demonstrating religious spirit far more than we are a Christ-like life. Hear me clearly: I am not in any way condemning businesses that say “Merry Christmas.” I like it a lot, especially in this pluralistic culture, but I don’t consider that the mark of good business or the mark of a pro-Christmas business.

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Good business involves community responsibility. Being responsible to a community means you don’t kill innocent members of it or aid and abet those who do. Whether it’s Kroger or Whole Foods, or other businesses, the real issues for us ought to be what it does with the money we give them, not if they say words that make us smile and feel warm inside.

At this time of year Facebook status are filled with people saying “I went CHRISTmas shopping today. CHRISTmas is my favorite time of the year.” But without actions, they are words, and the Bible addresses this:

“These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”- Matthew 15:8-9

Pro-Christmas businesses can’t support abortion and be considered pro-Christmas. Christmas is founded on a celebration of the birth of Jesus, though the season has become a celebration for many things, including Hanukah and Kwanzaa, so by all means, say CHRISTmas; say it a lot. But in order to actually celebrate the birth of Jesus we must do far more than honor Him with our lips.

Jesus is the baby who came to earth as an “inconvenient pregnancy” who would have certainly been a victim of pro-choicers’ rhetoric on Mary’s need to have her whole life ahead of her by “choosing abortion.”

Consider what Jesus would say to us today: is it really about using the word Christmas? Or would He be more concerned with us supporting the myriad of businesses who blatantly fund the proliferation of killing innocent children and call it a charity and a choice? I’m not condemning saying “Merry Christmas,” but I am saying that our words alone mean nothing if our actions don’t follow them. If we will boycott a store for not saying “Merry Christmas” but shop there if it supports abortion, we have a disconnect that’s a bigger problem than offering a Christmas greeting.

LifeNews Note:  Susan Michelle Tyrrell is the editor of Bound4Life’s blog.