What?
Holy God, I am bewildered. I keep blinking at the screens that show large companies declaring their support for immigrants, refugees, and the value of inclusivity. I am unaccustomed to the idea that multinational brands could take moral leadership. Questions come: yes, but how do they treat their workers? Yes, but what is their impact on the environment? Yes, but are they just trying to manipulate our emotions for financial gain?
As the questions bounce around, I sense an underlying swell of gratitude. Thank you, God, for the businesswomen and men who are choosing to use their public platforms to affirm the noble values to which our society aspires. Justice. Fairness. The strength of difference in unity. They are, in some small way, reminding us who we say we are, and holding us accountable to that standard. The questions that come to me are valid and important, insofar as they are used to hold these businesses accountable, too. Forgive me, God, when I lose sight of that, and let my critical inquiry become a test of purity. Because rejecting tests of imagined purity--of any kind--is central to the work of justice. I give thanks for help from unexpected places, and I ask God to bless the people of 84 Lumber, Ben and Jerry's, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, Nike, Budweiser, and every other company resisting hate and supporting welcome. Grant them each a double measure of courage and creativity, and may their examples stir the hearts of other business professionals. Let them not grow weary in this work. Amen.