Jesus Gets Us, But the Servant Foundation Doesn't Get Him
Hobby Lobby's David Green's organization is not a good witness.
Of all the Super Bowl ads shown during the game, the two that have drawn the most attention were the “Jesus Gets Us” commercials sponsored by the Servant Foundation.
The only disclosed member of the Servant Foundation is Hobby Lobby’s CEO David Green. The foundation is backed by Christian donors from various Christian denominations.
The ads have sparked considerable conversations. They have drawn fire from Christians and support from agnostics and atheists who think that the Jesus depicted in the commercials is overwhelmingly more appealing than the one represented by His earthly followers.
And therein lies the problem with the ads and the Servant Foundation.
The ads that say, “Jesus was a Refugee,” “Love Your Enemies,” and “Jesus Loved The People We Hate” aren’t wrong. In fact, they are frustratingly correct.
He was a refugee. He said, “love your enemies,” and meant it.
He taught and continues to teach us to love the people we hate.
But are these the values that non-Christians see when they see Christians?
Are we known as people who demonstrate love and forgiveness?
Unfortunately, no.
We are overwhelmingly known as the most rigid, inflexible, unloving, unforgiving, prejudiced people on earth.
We have earned this by being against everything and everyone that fits outside of a rigid orthodoxy.
When non-Christians think of Christians, they don’t think of love and forgiveness.
They think of racism, sexism, and reactionary politics.
They think of Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor-Greene, and the former president.
And while David Green-sponsored commercials may exhibit the tenets that accurately represent Christianity, his company Hobby Lobby’s policies don’t align with these values.
For example:
· Successfully suing all the way to the Supreme Court to withhold contraceptives from being covered by employee insurance
· Illegally smuggling biblical artifacts from Iraq
· Using a Confederate flag and pro-slavery images in the Green family’s The Museum of the Bible
· Using fake Dead Sea Scroll artifacts in the Museum of the Bible
· Illegally opening Hobby Lobby stores to flout COVID-related business laws
Of all the negative attributes non-Christians ascribe to Christians, the most consistent and likely most accurate is hypocrisy.
What the “Jesus Gets Us” ads say, but what David Green and Hobby Lobby does are incompatible.
Jesus does gets us. He understands us and loves us.
But despite their somewhat effective ads
David Green and the Servant Foundation don’t get Jesus.
Not even a little bit.