Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Church is not Consumed
Ed Stetzer quotes Skye Jethani on consumerism in the church:
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First, consumerism reduces God from a deity to a commodity. His value, like everything else, is determined by His usefulness to the user (i.e. the Christian). In consumerism, personal desires and their fulfillment are paramount, therefore everything and everyone-- including God--exists to satisfy these cravings. This is precisely the opposite of what Scripture teaches. We are called to live in submission to God and walk humbly with Him. Consumerism, however, reduces God so that He becomes a means to an end. He is presented as a useful tool that supplies us with our desires and expectations. As one sociologist noted, in our consumer culture we have come to view God as part cosmic therapist and part divine butler.
Secondly, consumerism reduces Jesus Christ from Lord to a label. When the early Christians declared "Christ is Lord" they were subverting the popular belief of the day that "Caesar is Lord." It was a proclamation of Jesus' authority and power over all things, and it was a declaration of allegiance to our heavenly King.
But in consumerism the customer is king, not Jesus. As a result Christianity becomes just one more brand we integrate and display along with Gap, Apple, and Starbucks to express our identity.Amen to that, and might I just add that an understanding on self-identity based on the products you consume is a very shallow understanding of identity.
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