About 35 years ago, I spoke of out against Kresge Corporation. At the time the owners of the largest retail business in the world were persecuting a poor man in Florida. He had noticed that Kresge had gone into the pornography business (through some bookstores that they owned). So, he stood outside his local K-Mart with a picket sign. They took him to court, knowing that he was perfectly within his constitutional right and that they would therefore lose. They reasoned that they could afford to lose a lawsuit (or even several), but that he could not afford to go to court repeatedly. It was about as corrupt and dishonest as could be. The judge should have fined them big time for bringing a trivial suit. Instead, the judge merely dismissed the case, exactly as they had expected. They filed another suit against the man, hoping to persecute him into silence.
So, I suggested to our congregation that we should stop buying from K-Mart. Most of our members said, "It won't do any good. I will keep buying there." But a few stopped buying, and I know that some prayed that God would bring an appropriate punishment to Kresge Corporation.
Have you shopped at a K-Mart lately? They once had two-thousand stores. The last I heard they were down to two. I know that it was not because of my boycotting them. But it did happen. Was this God's judgement? Was it just coincidence? As Mordecai said, "who knows?" (Esther 4:14)
I thought of this because of two items in the news this morning.
Some months ago, when a few States decided to put limits on the murdering of babies, Amazon promised their employees that they would help if any of them wanted to kill a baby. Then there was Target with their infamous promotion of homosexuality. We cannot fight these big businesses, can we? I know that the loss of my business would not be noticed by either of them. But we can, and should, do what we can. Some did.
The two news items I saw today were headlined: "US Government and 17 States sue Amazon in Landmark Monopoly Case" and "Target Will Close Nine Stores in Major Cities Citing Violence and Theft."
I do not for a moment think that the Biden Administration has suddenly become pro-life, or that the criminal gangs causing Target to close stores are doing so with good motives. But God has used corrupt governments and greedy people in the past. He called the Assyrian King "the rod of my anger" when Assyria was used to punish Israel (Isa 10:5-12). He used Babylon, "a bitter and hasty" people, to punish Judah (Hab 1:5-11). He used a greedy church treasurer to accomplish his will once (John 12:4-6). "Perhaps" (see Philemon 15) he is using the Federal Trade Commission to punish Amazon, and criminal gangs to punish Target. I don't know. But I will keep praying. Let's check back in another 35 years and see what has happened to Amazon and Target.
God rarely shows his hand. He seems to prefer to work behind the scenes. He seems to prefer to act behind the scenes so that those who do not wish to believe will not be forced to do so, while those who are open to faith are able to discern his actions. As Pascal said,
"It was not, then, right that He should appear in a manner manifestly divine, and completely capable of convincing all men; but it was also not right that He should come in so hidden a manner that He could not be known by those who should sincerely seek Him. He has willed to make himself quite recognizable by those; and thus, willing to appear openly to those who seek Him with all their heart, and to be hidden from those who flee from Him with all their heart, He so regulates the knowledge of Himself that He has given signs of Himself, visible to those who seek Him, and not to those who seek Him not. There is enough light for those who only desire to see, and enough obscurity for those who have a contrary disposition." (Pensées VII: 430)