5For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake.6For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
We are carriers of the light of Christ, and we are to evaluate our practices in light of His truth. And, there will be times when we have to stand on conviction, when we are called to say "no" when seemingly the rest of the world is saying "yes," and vice versa. So, it's important that we make up our minds to act in a manner that pleases God and make quality decisions to follow Him and stand on His principles, no matter what. We develop this mindset through careful study of God's word and allowing His truth to shape our convictions.
We are believers in Christ, and we are entrusted with carrying His light and to stand against practices and principles that do not please Him. Here are some strong words from John 3:
19And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.20For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.21But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."
The anticipation had been building since the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would take not one, but two cases involving a mandate from the Federal government, the Department of Health and Human Services, requiring employers to provide contraception and potential abortion-inducing drugs in their health care plans. Two family-owned businesses, Conestoga Wood Specialties and Hobby Lobby, filed suit against the mandate, and their cases were heard by the high court earlier this year.
Yesterday, the ruling finally came. The Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented the Hahn family, the owners of Conestoga, in a press release, said:
The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed Monday that two family-run businesses, Conestoga Wood Specialties and Hobby Lobby Stores, do not have to surrender their religious freedom in order to remain in business. The court determined that federal law protects the two families from being forced to act contrary to their beliefs by the Obama administration’s abortion pill mandate.Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel David Cortman said, “In its decision today, the Supreme Court affirmed that all Americans, including family business owners, must be free to live and work according to their beliefs without fear of government punishment. In a free and diverse society, we respect the freedom to live out our convictions. For the Hahns and the Greens, that means not being forced to participate in distributing potentially life-terminating drugs and devices.”
Lori Windham, Senior Counsel for The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and counsel for Hobby Lobby, is quoted as saying, “This ruling will protect people of all faiths. The Court’s reasoning was clear, and it should have been clear to the government. You can’t argue there are no alternative means when your agency is busy creating alternative means for other people.”
ADF quotes from the majority opinion (RFRA=Religious Freedom Restoration Act):
“In holding that the HHS mandate is unlawful, we reject HHS’s argument that the owners of the companies forfeited all RFRA protection when they decided to organize their businesses as corporations rather than sole proprietorships or general partnerships...The plain terms of RFRA make it perfectly clear that Congress did not discriminate in this way against men and women who wish to run their businesses as for-profit corporations in the manner required by their religious beliefs.”
The dedication of both the Green and the Hahn families is inspiring, and I wanted to interject some thoughts about one of the families involved here. The Becket Fund reports that Hobby Lobby was founded by David Green in an Oklahoma City garage in 1972 with $600 in borrowed funds, In the company’s early days, David, his wife Barbara and their two sons, Steve and Mart, would work together building frames around the kitchen table. The first retail location was just 300 square feet. Now, it has grown into more than 556 stores in 41 states, with 70 more scheduled to open this year.
The Green family believes that “it is by God’s grace and provision that Hobby Lobby has endured.” Therefore they seek to honor God by “operating the company in a manner consistent with Biblical principles.” The Greens live out their evangelical Christian faith in their business. Their generosity toward employees and toward the culture at large is impressive. The company's minimum full-time hourly wages are now more than 90 percent above the federal minimum wage. Minimum wages for part-time employees are also well above the average for retail. Hobby Lobby has increased its minimum wage for full-time hourly employees by $1 an hour five years in a row. In addition, the company has added thousands of jobs in the last year alone at a time of slow employment growth nationwide.
The Greens and their family businesses are fully committed to a true work-life balance for their employees. To allow them to spend time with their families, Hobby Lobby stores are open only 66 hours per week and close most nights at 8 p.m. In particular, as part of that commitment to employees and their families, Hobby Lobby stores are closed on Sundays – the most productive and profitable day of the week for any retail business.
In 2010, Founder and CEO David Green and his wife, Barbara, signed on to the Giving Pledge, agreeing to donate the majority of their wealth to philanthropy. In the letter announcing the donation, Green said, “From helping orphanages in faraway lands to helping ministries in America, Hobby Lobby has always been a tool for the Lord’s work. For me and my family, charity equals ministry, which equals the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
So, there is a unique dedication to Christ that is evident in the work of Hobby Lobby, and I wanted to use the Green family today to share some lessons for our own practice of faith. First of all, the Greens apparently do not separate their faith from their work. How we approach our vocation, as Christians, is an extension of who we are as believers. Not only do the Greens speak about their faith freely, not only do they run gospel-centered full-page ads for Christmas and Easter in major newspapers, but their practice toward their employees is an expression of their concern for the people who work for them.
And, they also see their profits as a means to fund the work of the gospel. They apparently regard their revenues as a blessing from the Lord, and they want to use their funds to bring honor to Christ and to spread His message.
Finally, the Green family of Hobby Lobby participated in a path of significant risk regarding the HHS mandate, they stood on and pursued conviction. When this troublesome regulation was handed down, they could have complied and probably received very little criticism or consequences. But, that was not their approach - they felt that they had to speak out, that they did not, by their actions, want to participate in a practice that takes life. They put their business on the line in order to uphold their convictions, and therefore the religious freedom of not only their company, but others as well.
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