In certain Christian business circles, there’s strong encouragement to publicly announce your faith. Chick-Fil-A and Hobby Lobby are two examples. ServiceMaster used to be one too. I know several other small businesses that are quite vocal about their faith to their customers—Christians and non-Christians alike. Some of them might be questioned how genuine their faith is based on some of their values, policies and practices. Some have even been hauled into court over cultures of harassment and prejudicial promotion and hiring practices: definitely not in the “love your neighbor” vein of a Christian walk.
Recently I was in Europe at a religious site known for miracles and supernatural visitations. A whole religious and commercial community has built up around the phenomena—not unlike how businesses crop up around popular tourist sites to support the attraction’s business and patrons—to accommodate all the “tourists.” I declined an invitation to enter the local church to see the shrines. I replied that my faith was pretty simple in terms of religious trappings and I’m not impressed by ostentatious displays.
I was reminded of words from Christ’s most famous sermon, paraphrased: your righteousness needs to be greater than the Pharisees who love to show off their religious zeal by praying in the streets and publicly demonstrating how miserable they are while they’re fasting. (Matt. 5.20; 6.1-8, 16-18).
When we pronounce our faith to our customers, are we looking for the applause of people? How much is God impressed by this faith expression if we don’t have the “love your neighbor” actions to back the pronouncement?
