Saturday; November 20

A couple of weeks ago I really wanted to watch a college football game, but it wasn’t on one of the networks I get through my digital television packages. It was; however, available through a subscription to an add-on sports package that was pretty affordable. The problem was that because of some of the stands taken by this network, I had made the choice to not directly give them any more money. I couldn’t really parse them out of what I was paying for my overall subscription, so I allowed myself to watch the programming they offered through that provider, but I had decided not to support their “extra” stuff. All of this sounded really good back before college football started or even when I could watch the games I wanted to see; but now I was being blocked by my own principles. I really wanted to see the game, but was I willing to cave in and violate my conscience? I was hoping that I could get a free seven-day trial and ease the decision, but they don’t offer one, so I was stuck with making a grown-up decision. The choice was made even more difficult by the fact that I could easily afford the additional expense of the extra package, so cost wasn’t a factor in my decision … it came down to principle. What was more important to me – watching a game or sticking to my principles?
When we face matters of conscience, what do we do? Sure, it is easy to make decisions when we are fired-up about our principles, but when the embers cool are we just as committed? It is great to take a stand when we have other options available to us, but when it comes down to what we want is in direct violation of our values, are we as strong as we should be?
Folks, I am not advocating that you participate in my boycott, but I do encourage you to stick to your principles – even if it causes some distress or inconvenience. After all, isn’t our personal integrity tied to who we are even when no one else is looking?

Think About It!

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