Should Christians patronize a business or organization that openly supports LGBTQ causes?

Christians increasingly face decisions about whether to support businesses or organizations that promote beliefs about sexuality and gender that conflict with Scripture. Companies such as major retailers, entertainment corporations, and professional sports leagues sometimes use their influence to support LGBTQ causes. Christians may decide not to give such organizations their money. However, Scripture does not require Christians to boycott every company that supports sinful beliefs. The greater responsibility is to remain faithful to biblical truth while engaging the culture with the gospel.

American businesses have long used philanthropy to support causes. It is also part of a marketing strategy. Companies that contribute to causes their customers care about expect those values to become part of their brand and influence buying decisions.

In recent years, certain corporations have championed causes that many Christians believe contradict biblical morality. Businesses have promoted LGBTQ celebrations, adopted policies based on changing understandings of gender, and included LGBTQ themes in advertising and entertainment. Professional sports organizations have made similar statements. Scripture defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4–6). It also teaches that sexual activity outside marriage is sinful (Romans 1:26–27). Christians therefore may wonder whether purchasing from organizations that promote contrary beliefs makes them participants in what those companies support.

The first response must be spiritual because that’s the deepest problem. Scripture teaches that sinful desires come from the human heart (James 1:14–15) and that the world is hostile toward God (James 4:4). It also describes Satan as the deceiver who leads people away from truth (John 8:44; Revelation 12:9). As societies move farther from God, Christians should expect beliefs and behaviors contrary to Scripture to become increasingly accepted.

The only true cure for sin is Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 2:2). Christians should pray for those who reject God’s truth. They should also faithfully proclaim the gospel. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), and only the gospel can transform sinful hearts.

Christians may also choose to boycott organizations that support evil. There can be wisdom in refusing to spend money on certain products or entertainment. This is especially true when doing so would violate a believer’s conscience or directly support something sinful. Consumers routinely choose businesses according to their convictions, and Christians are free to do the same.

At the same time, separating ourselves from every business connected with sinful beliefs can become difficult. Paul addressed a related problem when Christians in Corinth wondered about associating with immoral people. Paul did not tell them to avoid every immoral person. If they did, he said, “then you would need to go out of the world” (1 Corinthians 5:10, ESV). The fact is, Christians live, work, buy, and sell among people who do not share biblical convictions.

For that reason, Scripture gives Christians room for conscience in many purchasing decisions. One believer may decide that a company’s public advocacy is serious enough that he should stop supporting it. Another may continue purchasing ordinary goods or services from the same company without believing he is endorsing all that the corporation supports. Romans 14 teaches believers not to despise or condemn one another over matters in which Scripture allows liberty.

There are also practical limits. Modern corporations connect to each other through investments, suppliers, advertising, and technology. A person may boycott one company only to discover that the alternative supports similar causes. Some Christians can easily give up certain products or entertainment but find other services harder to replace.

Boycotts can sometimes influence companies, and Christians are free to use them. But boycotts can only address symptoms of the real problem. Changing where people shop cannot change the human heart.

Christians who want to push back against evil must proclaim biblical truth. They must also engage their culture with the gospel. Christians should use wisdom about where they spend their money, refuse to celebrate what Scripture calls sinful, and avoid violating their consciences. Yet their greatest hope is not economic pressure. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ, against which “the gates of hell shall not prevail” (Matthew 16:18, ESV).