Faith

2 Criticisms of Hobby Lobby That Miss the Mark

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Last Updated on August 8, 2014

Reaction to this week’s Hobby Lobby Supreme Court ruling often mentioned two popular accusations of double standards critics were only too eager to use to blast the retailer. But neither truly levies the damage they hope for.

The Religious Right has been celebrating the Supreme Court ruling that allows family-owned or closely-held businesses like Hobby Lobby to avoid paying for certain contraceptives if the owners deem the contraceptives to be against their religious beliefs.

But those who view the ruling as a defeat have hurled two big criticisms toward Hobby Lobby in an attempt to portray the business as operating under a double standard.

The China Connection

One of the chief complaints about Hobby Lobby’s position against certain forms of birth control on religious grounds is the notion that while the company made a spectacle of its “corporate Christianity,”&nbsp the company apparently sells products manufactured in China where child sweatshops may be involved and where forced abortions have been documented.

It lead some to ask if the proper stance on abortion is that it’s considered wrong only if it’s an American fetus about to be aborted.

How, critics say, can Hobby Lobby dare tout its Christianity and desire to protect unborn children if it’s doing business with countries that do not seem to place as much value on children unborn or born?

The problem with this point is that Hobby Lobby can’t control what a foreign country does or doesn’t do. It can do its best to investigate the conditions applicable to the products it sells, but as a business, it must sell items it can find for a price customers will accept; otherwise, it’s out of business.

What about the Sabbath?

And then there’s this one: if Hobby Lobby is going to paint itself as such a Christian company, why aren’t they closed on Sundays like, say, Chick-Fil-A?

The fact that Hobby Lobby chooses to open on Sundays must violate the commandment that requires we keep the Sabbath holy.

It’s a convenient criticism, but then when one thinks of it, it’s easy to suggest that Christians require others to work on the Sabbath routinely; a Sunday morning church service is a perfect example: church employees are paid to work on the Christian Sabbath. There’s no real getting around that one.

Striving for perfection in an imperfect world.

These criticisms seem to suggest, though those who use them likely wouldn’t like to admit it, that Hobby Lobby, and Christians in general, should do nothing that represents their faith if they can’t mirror every single aspect of their faith with spiritual teachings.

That’s like saying someone who’s on doctor’s orders to lose weight should ignore any health concerns and just pile on the calories if he isn’t able to make it to the gym every day of the week versus going five of the seven.

While I am not in complete agreement with Hobby Lobby’s argument in the case itself, I also believe it’s clear that we as Christians have to do everything we can to live an obedient life. We cannot be perfect, though we should aspire to get as close as we can get whenever we can.

Knowing we may not be perfect all the time should never be an excuse to sit back and do nothing.

the authorPatrick
Patrick is a Christian with more than 30 years experience in professional writing, producing and marketing. His professional background also includes social media, reporting for broadcast television and the web, directing, videography and photography. He enjoys getting to know people over coffee and spending time with his dog.