The Flow of Money

In all of our activities, we are called to operate in a manner that shows that know, love, and follow
Christ. Colossians 3 offers this practical insight:
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

So, we are to be people of the Word, which can produce wisdom in our lives - and that involves the ability to apply our knowledge to real-life situations.  The Bible tells us that if we lack wisdom, we are to ask of God - I believe that we can depend on His Spirit to give us direction to know how to act in any situation and the capacity to honor Him with the decisions we make.  This is true for every area of our life, including our conduct in the workplace.

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The Bible teaches powerful skills regarding how we are to conduct ourselves in our profession.  We
are to work with excellence, serve with joy, and to act responsibly. Luke 16 offers some insight into our workplace culture:
10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.
11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
12 And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own?
13 No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

It is not a secret that corporations can support or oppose particular agendas.  The corporate culture can help to reinforce Christian values, and can play a significant role in promoting causes that conflict with our deeply-held beliefs.

Today, we're going to examine some corporations on both sides of the ledger.  First of all, the organization Faith Driven Consumer, which describes itself on its website as "representing 41 million Christian consumers who spend $2 trillion annually," and which has, as it says, "earned wide recognition for rating the faith compatibility of major brands both in the consumer and entertainment spheres, as well as serving as a voice for this community."

This week, Faith Driven Consumer, buidling on more than four years of research and behind-the-scenes work with major brands, has announced the first annual Faith Equality Index (FEI), which it states, "emerges as the only industry benchmark to measure m [sic] compatibility with Faith Driven Consumers."

This year's leaders are: Chick-fil-A, Hobby Lobby, Interstate Batteries, Tyson Foods, Cracker Barrel, Walmart, and Thrivent Financial.  FDC also released its 10 lowest-rated brands, which are, staring from the bottom: Bank of America, Unilever, DirecTV, Expedia, Nationwide, Pfizer, Microsoft, AT&T, Apple, and T-Mobile.

In the press release announcing the top brands, Chris Stone, Certified Brand Strategist and founder of Faith Driven Consumer said, "In a marketplace that celebrates diversity, the Faith Equality Index focuses major brands on the newest color in their rainbow, Faith Driven Consumers. Like every community, Faith Driven Consumers expect to be welcomed by the companies they do business with and work for. FEI affords the marketplace a transparent tool to measure where brands stand."  And, Faith Driven Consumer thinks there is room for improvement, since the top score was only 63 on a 100-point scale.  (You can see the company reviews here.)  In reading one of the scorecards, it seems that FDC is expecting companies to provide special treatment faith-based consumers, including special training and policies oriented toward serving that demographic. Examples would be: an employer-sponsored Employee Resource Group for faith-driven employees and an Equal Application of Equal Protection statement specifying that all enumerated groups are protected equally in practice with every other enumerated group.  It's actually an intriguing prospect - to treat faith-based consumers in the same way that diversity proponents would like for businesses to treat the LGBT community, perhaps.

Yesterday, the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance went down to defeat by a sizable margin, and there was corporate participation in trying to get the bill passed by the voters - the ordinance would have provided special rights based on gender identity and sexual orientation.  And, there was corporate participation in attempting to coerce voters to support the measure.  The Daily Signal reported that the biggest corporate supporters were: Apple, BASF, Dell, Dow, General Electric, Hewlett Packard, and United Airlines.  These companies joined more than 60 local businesses that have gotten behind the measure, along with more than 60 coalition members, according to the Houston Unites website. Coalition members include the ACLU, the NAACP, and Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast.

And, while we are certainly concerned about the taxpayer funding of the nation's largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, there is also a corporate element of support for the organization. The Daily Signal earlier this year highlighted corporations who had been involved in that support. It quoted 2nd Vote, a website and app that tracks the flow of money from consumers to political causes, which said that more than 25 percent of Planned Parenthood’s $1.3-billion annual revenue comes from private donations, which includes corporate contributions.  And, you'll see some of the same names that I mentioned earlier: Apple (of course!), Bank of America, Unilever, Expedia, Microsoft, and Pfizer.   Even the March of Dimes is on the list.

These are all very interesting statistics, and there are actions that perhaps individual consumers can take to move the needle into a direction that portrays a commitment to serving the faith community and to taking cultural stands that more accurately reflect our values.   The flow of money to corporate interests through commerce is a powerful tool...dry it up or reduce it, and it can send a message.

And, in our own corporate climate - whether you are business owner, a supervisor, or what you may regard as "merely" an employee - you can help to create a culture that exalts Christ. Because you are there as His ambassador, you can conduct yourself in a manner that reflects His presence in your life. That can be seen in how you relate to your fellow employees, how you serve and show concern for customers, and the general attitude that you bring, shaped by God's Word, which teaches that we do our best, that we strive for excellence.  The workplace provides critical opportunities to demonstrate Christ's love.