Pushing the Envelope

We have to allow God's Word to be the light in our minds, to show us the way of truth. Ephesians chapter 4 states:
17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,
18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart...

We have to be so careful that we don't "buy in" to the world's philosophies - there are people these days who would diminish the ideas of biology consistent with the concept of God as Creator, leading to confusion over gender, leading to a warped view of identity. God's view of sexuality is eroding in our culture, yet we can know that His teachings, found in Scripture, continue to be a strong foundation for individual lives and culture. 

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In Acts 17, we see the apostle Paul setting an example for us regarding cultural engagement; we can see these verses:
22 Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious;
23 for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:
24 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.

They're pushing the envelope too far, and just may have to backtrack.  In the name of fairness, there have been companies that have exceeded the limits and have realized that perhaps trying to please special interests, it offends other customers.

Hasbro learned that recently, or so it seems.  As Al Perrotta relates at The Stream:

Mr. Potato Head is being neutered. Hasbro, the toy giant behind the classic toy, announced that come fall Mr. Potato Head will simply be a gender neutral "Potato Head.”

Hasbro says that after 70 years, Mr. Potato Head needed a “modern makeover.”

Hasbro executive Kimberly Boyd tried to explain; Al quotes from an article at the Fast Company website:

“Culture has evolved,” Boyd said. “Kids want to be able to represent their own experiences. The way the brand currently exists — with the ‘Mr.’ and ‘Mrs.’ — is limiting when it comes to both gender identity and family structure.”

After the announcement, Perrotta updated his article and said, "Hasbro is either back-peddling faster than an all-pro cornerback or blew its announcement this morning. Hasbro is now saying that Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head will not be going anywhere." He included the tweet from the toy company:

Hold that Tot – your main spud, MR. POTATO HEAD isn’t going anywhere! While it was announced today that the POTATO HEAD brand name & logo are dropping the ‘MR.’ I yam proud to confirm that MR. & MRS. POTATO HEAD aren’t going anywhere and will remain MR. & MRS. POTATO HEAD

So, apparently this company found fault with the age-old concept of "Mr. and Mrs."  And, being white has its baggage, too, in the eyes of some. It was reported at the New York Post that a particular company, in its diversity training, pushed the envelope too far as well and used a course called "Confronting Racism,” which was offered by LinkedIn Education.  The Post, quoting from the material, stated:

“In the U.S. and other Western nations, white people are socialized to feel that they are inherently superior because they are white,” reads one of the slides, allegedly sent from an “internal whistleblower” and posted on Twitter by YouTube commentator Karlyn Borysenko. 

Perrotta also addressed this set of circumstances.  He pointed out, as did the Post, that LinkedIn had used the teaching and philosophy of Robin DiAngelo, the author of the book, White Fragility.  He said that according to DiAngelo, "to be less white is to..."

Be less oppressive

Be less arrogant

Be less certain

Be less defensive

Be less ignorant

Be more humble

Listen

Believe

Break with apathy

Break with white solidarity.

A screenshot in the Post article showed that list, as well. Borysenko said the training was mandatory for one particular company, whose officials said, according to Perrotta:

“Our Better Together global training is part of a learning plan to help build an inclusive workplace. It is comprised of a number of short vignettes, each a few minutes long. The training includes access to the LinkedIn Learning platform on a variety of topics, including on diversity, equity and inclusion. The video in question was accessible on the LinkedIn Learning platform but was not part of the company’s curriculum. We will continue to listen to our employees and refine our learning programs as appropriate.”

The Post says that the content has been pulled from LinkedIn, and DiAngelo's camp said that her material was misrepresented in the videos.

Here are instances from corporate America where companies have seemingly crossed a line and have had to backtrack.  The expectations are high and the pressure from special interests is enormous. So, we have seen companies adopt policies and philosophies that, for Christians, are offensive, because they violate Biblical principles.  The gender identity viewpoint strives for homogenization of gender; the Bible says that God created male and female.  The critical race theorists attempt to generalize groups of people and turn them against each other based on skin color; the Bible tells us that we are from one blood.  

These days, in the name of creating a better society, pockets of corporate America have a misguided sense of morality. That's just part of the landscape. Execs are being forced to embrace a worldview publicly that runs counter to Biblical teaching and may even negatively impact their bottom line. I do believe that companies that abide by Christian principles should not shrink back from that - we certainly need more corporate responsibility and less pandering.  And, when we see companies that violate our values, it is totally appropriate to speak out and respond, perhaps even altering buying habits in order to send a message that we do not support their decisions.  That's part of responsible corporate dialogue. We should also allow these corporate excesses to give us an opportunity to engage in conversation and contemplation about how the philosophies we encounter either line up with or contradict Scripture.