The Wrong Side

There does seem to be so much political posturing these days, virtue signaling by individuals and companies to show how correct that they are, based on the errant standard of the world's approval.  
Jesus calls out people of this sort in Matthew 15, when He says:
7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
8 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.
9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' "

Hopefully, that's not us.  But, it is beneficial to examine our hearts.  We are called to be compassionate in our relationships with the world around, and consistent in our adherence to Scripture. We should be known for how we uphold God's principles and reflect His heart.  We can allow the teachings of the Word to guide our positions and not allow the world to dictate how we are to believe and behave.  If we are not grounded in the Word, we become vulnerable to being hypocrites - saying one thing, and doing the other - a practice that Jesus warned against. 

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In Matthew 23, Jesus warns the Pharisees against self-serving and their hypocrisy toward the people 
they were called to serve:
23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.

The Disney organization is certainly by no means a faith-based organization, although it built its reputation on family-friendly entertainment.  It, along with other studios, made news last year when it threatened to pull its extensive filmmaking apparatus out of Georgia due to the state's passage of a law that protects pre-born children from having their lives taken once a heartbeat can be detected via ultrasound.  The Hollywood Reporter at the time shared this information:

Bob Iger said it would be “very difficult” for Disney to keep filming in Georgia if the state enacts a new abortion law. 

In an interview with Reuters, the CEO of the Walt Disney Co. said he had doubts the company would continue production in Georgia if the controversial ban on abortion in the state comes into effect, primarily as the company's employees would be against it.

The law has been struck down in court, and it seems as if Disney, as well as Netflix, have not made any other threats - but you can readily see the company's disregard for the sanctity of human life.  

Well, Disney has on one level been caught in hypocrisy, threatening to pull out of Georgia, but filming in China in close proximity to an area where people are being tortured.  The Daily Signal published an article from The Daily Caller, saying:

Disney is facing criticism for filming where China’s Uighurs are allegedly being interned more than a year after CEO Bob Iger suggested the company might be forced to cut ties with Georgia after the state passed an anti-abortion law.

In the credits for the live-action version of “Mulan,” Disney thanked a Chinese agency called Turpan Municipal Bureau of Public Safety, which is allegedly responsible for running internment camps housing individuals from the country’s Muslim minority groups, the BBC reported Monday. Disney filmed the movie in Xinjiang, China, where Uighur people have reportedly been imprisoned.

The article goes on to say:

Numerous reports have shown Uighurs being held in concentration camps and being subjected to forced sterilization. Chinese officials deny any wrongdoing in Xinjiang, and claimed in an April statement that there is no “detention of a million Muslims from Xinjiang.”

The Stream posted another Daily Caller article, reporting that:

It’s inconceivable that Disney was unaware that Xinjiang, China, is the location where China is imprisoning the country’s Uighur population, stockholder Justin Danhof told the Daily Caller News Foundation. Disney is facing intense criticism for filming in 2019 the live-action version of Mulan in Xinjiang, where the minority group is allegedly being interned.

“Disney will be hearing from us in a formal way on this issue. We will be engaging with Disney in that way,” Danhof said, referring to his fellow stockholders. “Other investors who are not aware of what Disney is doing will be made aware.”

Danhof did not elaborate on what he and the other stockholders supposedly have planned, noting that he does not like to discuss such internal matters.

Danhof is general counsel and director of the Free Enterprise Project, which is a product of conservative think tank National Center for Public Policy Research; he said: “It’s wildly offensive...There can be no doubt that Disney has to be aware of this. Some executives probably even saw some of the centers housing the Uighurs.”

John Stonestreet, in a Breakpoint commentary, stated:

Xinjiang is the home province of some 12 million Muslim Uighurs. According to the U. S. State Department, over one million of them have been moved to concentration camps where “they are starved, abused, tortured, electrocuted, raped and even killed.” Uighur women have been “forcibly sterilized . . . [and] made to use intrusive birth control methods.” There have even been reports of forced abortions and even infanticide.

Stonestreet also pointed out Disney's threat to Georgia in 2016 over a religious liberty law and poses the question: "Why then, would Disney be willing to put the economic screws to a U.S. state over abortion and LGBT rights, but not to a Communist dictatorship over human-rights violations and even genocide?"  He adds:

While Beijing clearly doesn’t care about world opinion, too much world opinion cares about China… especially China’s money. Having propped up its authority for so long on economic promises, the only pressure China is likely to take seriously is financial. Nations like Japan and India, and even some corporations like Apple, have taken a stand and moved business out of China. Disney, on the other hand, gave China a great big PR win instead.

Disney clearly does not see the harm in abortion, which is genocide in and of itself, and is apparently insensitive to the plight of these political prisoners who are facing torture and death.  So, it seems to be across the board, womb to tomb. After all, why risk offending an economic partner such as China?  

The fact is, so many companies, in wanting to be on the right side of social issues, are risking offending customers in order to pursue a liberal and dehumanizing political agenda.  Pre-born children are being exterminated in the U.S. and homosexuality is being glorified.  In China, all manner of human rights violations are being perpetrated.  But, what is right and what is wrong has been turned upside down. 

But, Disney is apparently willing to stand with genocide, wherever it may occur.  We have to make sure that we align with life.  We are called to protect the vulnerable among us, in the womb, as well as those who are facing persecution for their faith.  Religious liberty is a value that is ingrained in Scripture and in the substance of our nation.  Thankfully, we have the freedom in this country to speak up against injustice - we have to make sure that we are not turning a blind eye to the cause of the persecuted.

The Disney company has been accused of hypocrisy.  And, I think it is highly instructive that Jesus spoke some of his harshest words to hypocrites.  His life and ministry and one of the character traits of the Christian life is to make sure we are walking in integrity - not saying one thing and doing the other. That is actually a principle that we find ingrained into our society, and Christians are sometimes taken to task for not, well, acting like Christians.  We have to make sure that we are consistent in our philosophy and our practice, and that we don't buy in to upside-down thinking that violates Scriptural principles.  The Uighurs may not share our faith, but they share our humanity, and opposition to religious persecution is a just cause; but a cause that is not a very high priority for Disney and corporate soulmates.