Conscience

Can one person make a difference? Biblical commentator, James Boice, wrote of one who did.

In 1983, Jack Eckerd, owner of the ECKERD drugstore chain, offered his life to Christ. As a result, he became convicted that his drugstores' offering PLAYBOY and PENHOUSE magazines for sale brought God no glory.

Eckerd phoned his company’s president and informed him he desired to remove any pornographic magazines from the more than seventeen hundred Eckerd drugstores.

This information did not set well with the president. ECKERD drugstores made millions of dollars off of the sales of these magazines. However, since Eckerd owned the stores, he held the ultimate authority.

Interestingly enough, Jack Eckerd’s decision was like a stone thrown into a calm pond—it created ripples. Many other stores followed ECKERD’s lead, culminating with mighty 7-Eleven, who in1986 finally removed pornography from all 4500 of its stores.

This titanic impact was made in our American culture without the passing of a single law. One man made a difference because his conscience spoke to him.