Stories of Christians being silenced are becoming all too common. Schools don’t want to recognize the Christian holidays they once taught about. Cities and states don’t want public displays or expressions of faith. We even had a rash of political correctness when many store employees were told not to say Merry Christmas.
Now a Walmart greeter has been told that wishing shoppers a blessed day is not allowed. James Phillips is a Walmart greeter at the store in Blue Ridge, Georgia.
Phillips was known for greeting shoppers with a simple “Have a blessed day” as they walked into the store. Then his manager told him that he had to stop using his signature greeting after a complaint from one person.
What happened next should bless you.
Walmart shoppers started to notice that James was no longer wishing them a blessed day and they did something about it. Customers started letting the local Walmart management know of their displeasure and they started contacting the corporate office.
James was flocked with supporters who not only showed up in person, but also took to Facebook and called Walmart’s corporate office by the hundreds.
“They tell me, some of them do, when I tell them, ‘Have a blessed day,’ they can be upset or mad and it goes away when I tell them that. So, that’s God working, not me,” Phillips said.
The clincher was when the community started protesting outside the Blue Ridge store doing what James Phillips could not, wishing people to “Have a Blessed Day”. Walmart heard the people of Blue Ridge, Georgia. Wal-Mart released a statement saying:
“We greatly value our associates and appreciate his work for the company. He is welcome to continue sharing his greetings with our customers.”
“I wasn’t trying to start a movement, but I am very appreciative that people thought enough of me to stand up for me this way,” Phillips said.
We take freedom of speech for granted, just assuming it will always be there. It turns out that we must stand up to the tyranny of political correctness whether it comes from the government or your local Walmart store.