Merica's gods: Greed & Consumerism

I've spent the last several months thinking about the utter waste in our nation. We waste resources, education, and effort on a wealth of idolatrous pursuits that are at the epicenter of American culture. It makes me sad. It is deeply sinful. And one of the saddest parts about it is that the American church has done or is doing very little to call it's people to repentance. Shame on us. Greed is the root of all evil. Every type of evil imaginable can be traced back to greed. Pride is essentially having a greedy opinion of yourself and wanting others to as well. Envy is the greedy instinct to desire something not in your possession. Sexual addiction, gluttony, and theft are all sinful results of greed.

In many places around the world greed takes the form of another idolatrous monstrosity known as consumerism, but perhaps no one demonstrates it as obviously as America. We don't know how to separate want from need, and even if we did we probably wouldn't have the self control to bother with it. We pursue possessions. Having and buying are at the heart of what many think it means to be American.

Sadly, this same mentality is too often reflected in the Church. We "shop" for places of worship and evaluate them based on ideas of what we "can get out of it" or how well "we are being fed." It's deeply tragic when we place value on a place of worship based on the scope of their facilities, size of their budget, or compartmentalization of their programs.

Because we consume so greedily, often there is little left from the church budget to things of incredible significance, like outreach. We spend selfishly.

What would our Church look like if we were generous, and not so self centered or glutinous in our spiritual consumption? What if Jesus wanted us to stop thinking of ourselves entirely?

More posts in this series:

Etiquette, Etican, Etican't

Football, Athletes, and Idolatry

Mirrors, Models, and Muscles

Education

Sex

Culture Wars

Religious Tradition and Dissidence

Intolerance

Greed & Consumerism

Merica's gods: Intolerance

I've spent the last several months thinking about the utter waste in our nation. We waste resources, education, and effort on a wealth of idolatrous pursuits that are at the epicenter of American culture. It makes me sad. It is deeply sinful. And one of the saddest parts about it is that the American church has done or is doing very little to call it's people to repentance. Shame on us. When I was a little kid my brother was an even smaller kid, and there were plenty of times he would do something that would make me want to slug him. Sometimes I did, which was quickly greeted by a parental reroof, but more often than not I simply tolerated whatever newly contrived annoyance he had come up with.

Our culture's working definition of the word tolerance is broken. Tolerance is a beautiful thing, but in recent years there has been a steady shift in just what that word means. No one really thinks of tolerating something as putting up with something you don't like anymore. Or at least that's not the way it is discussed in popular media.

We've sort of collectively replaced the definition of tolerance with the definition for acceptance, especially in terms of cultural squabbles. No longer when two parties disagree is there a mutually held respect, accompanied by a venerable tolerance based on the opposing side's inherent human dignity. Politically, socially, economically, and religiously, when someone inevitably disagrees with our ideas we label them as being intolerant.

We are so silly sometimes. By its vary nature, it is impossible to show tolerance for an issue unless we disagree with it. Christians should be the most tolerant people on earth. We should understand all too well that you don't, can't, and shouldn't attempt to force your beliefs on others. Of course we will regularly be at odds with practically everything about current trends in morality. But that doesn't mean we simply start demonizing everything and everyone. No, we don't have to remain silent in our disagreement, but we can voice our opinions without turning into crusading moralistic bullies.

The other side has a problem with this too. Often the far left labels Christianity as an incredibly intolerant faith because the vast majority of us refuse to sway from our historical core beliefs about God and moral issues. The truth is that our refusal to budge from our stalwart moral position, while still acknowledging the dignity and worth of those belittling us, is actually what proves the level of our tolerance.

Both sides of this issue of intolerance need to wake up. The level of vitriol and hate mongering that goes on today is disgusting. It's beneath us. We need to pull intolerance down off of its thrown and listen to what our neighbor has to say. It could be that taking the time to learn their opinion might give you insight into their basic human decency, even if you don't agree with their position.

More posts in this series:

Etiquette, Etican, Etican't

Football, Athletes, and Idolatry

Mirrors, Models, and Muscles

Education

Sex

Culture Wars

Religious Tradition and Dissidence

Intolerance

Greed & Consumerism

Merica's gods: Religious Tradition and Dissidence

I've spent the last several months thinking about the utter waste in our nation. We waste resources, education, and effort on a wealth of idolatrous pursuits that are at the epicenter of American culture. It makes me sad. It is deeply sinful. And one of the saddest parts about it is that the American church has done or is doing very little to call it's people to repentance. Shame on us. My family has some great traditions, especially around holiday time--traditions that I enjoy being a part of and look forward to every year. Chances are that your family has traditions of your own. It doesn't end there. Ultimately we are creatures of habit and comfort, and will almost inevitably create a tradition out of anything that gives us comfort or a feeling of success.

Politically our nation is experiencing this right now as the party convention season kicks into full swing. Relationally we probably experience tradition of another kind in the ways we enjoy spending time with our friends, family, and significant other. Religiously, well religiously is where tradition can really begin to be disastrous in our lives. I will go on record again to say that I don't think religion is a bad thing. Today its a dirty word in most conversations, but my personal belief is that it has been misused.

For the Christian we use religious activity to connect with God, which is a good thing; but sometimes we become more occupied with the idea of the religious activity and it's importance than we do with the God we should be trying to connect to, which is not a good thing. Jesus frequently butted heads with people who had engorged perspectives on the importance of religious tradition, but Jesus also did many religious things.

To finish this thought before moving on: the tradition must never trump the Trinity in our hearts and actions. We must never let our ideas about how we connect with God become more important than God or helping others connect to Him. The moment this happens we have created an idol.

And then there is the other side of this coin, dissidents. The dissidents among us, and many of us fall into this category at one time or another, are so fixated on the notion of abandoning tradition that we make a tradition of not being traditional. See how silly that sounds? And like the traditionalist who replaces God with his/her ritualistic thing, the dissident replaces God with his/her compulsion to ignore and abandon anything meaningful to be gleaned from tradition.

In my life the key to truly enjoying my relationship with the Father has been to embrace objectivity in my approach to the Christian religion. It's not always easy, and I don't always succeed in being objective, but I frequently find myself asking these questions: Why do I believe this way? Why do I do that? How does this help others see God? How would Jesus respond to this situation? Again, let me point out that I'm not always successful in my approach. Sometimes I become impassioned and rush into something without proper contemplation or prayerful discernment. Even so, it is my deepest belief that we can find the heart of God somewhere between the idolatrous extremes of religious tradition or dissidence. He is calling the Church to meet Him there.

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More posts in this series:

Etiquette, Etican, Etican't

Football, Athletes, and Idolatry

Mirrors, Models, and Muscles

Education

Sex

Culture Wars

Religious Tradition and Dissidence

Intolerance

Greed & Consumerism

Merica's gods: Culture Wars

I've spent the last several months thinking about the utter waste in our nation. We waste resources, education, and effort on a wealth of idolatrous pursuits that are at the epicenter of American culture. It makes me sad. It is deeply sinful. And one of the saddest parts about it is that the American church has done or is doing very little to call it's people to repentance. Shame on us. I'm not a culture warrior, and never plan to be. I think that getting caught up in most of what amounts to today's culture wars is pretty petty and ridiculous, and usually becomes more about who has the most fashionably attractive position to the fickle masses. Also, as Christians, getting lost in culture war has basically nothing to do with sharing the light of Christ with the world. In fact, I think its usually pretty contrary. Let me be clear, I do believe that we should take a stand for our values, and our convictions, but I also believe that sometimes we begin to idolize those convictions.

I have to admit, one of my biggest pet peeves is to listen to someone "preach" a sermon that is bulging with angsty war-time rhetoric targeted at their ideological opposition. It reeks of insecurity, faithlessness, and arrogance. But here is the real problem; some people just can't be bothered to follow the whole Bible. They've picked their target sins and want to camp out in picket lines at every social juncture to make sure that their voice is heard, their opinion is voiced, and they've had their say.

What happened to "pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17)" and "praying on all occasions with all kinds of prayers (Eph 6:18)"? What might our culture actually look like if the American Church spent more time looking and acting like the Bride of Christ and less time trying to make war with that culture?

News flash: the degradation of society that most self-professing culture warriors are so worried about is a symptom of a much larger issue. It's time to stop elevating our societal struggles to a place of supreme prominence. It's time to stop giving them the limelight. It's time to stop behaving as if God needs our help and is not sovereign.

Show concern for the issues that matter most to you. Form an opinion. Share it with those you care about, and vote your heart when the opportunity presents itself; but stop behaving as if culture war has anything to do with the Great Commission. The Church began losing the heart of America when it became more preoccupied with maintaining the status quo than with making disciples.

More posts in this series:

Etiquette, Etican, Etican't

Football, Athletes, and Idolatry

Mirrors, Models, and Muscles

Education

Sex

Culture Wars

Religious Tradition and Dissidence

Intolerance

Greed & Consumerism

Merica's gods: Sex

I've spent the last several months thinking about the utter waste in our nation. We waste resources, education, and effort on a wealth of idolatrous pursuits that are at the epicenter of American culture. It makes me sad. It is deeply sinful. And one of the saddest parts about it is that the American church has done or is doing very little to call it's people to repentance. Shame on us. Sex is the Herculean demigod of American idolatry. A rampant problem resultant of several other converging erroneous western ideologies, sex, or more accurately our cultural obsession with it, is a wildly dangerous god set loose upon this society.

The prevalence of pornography and abortion are probably two of the largest indicators that society's sexual climate has experienced radical change in recent decades. The consensual relationship between encroaching perversion in mainstream media and the common consumer's acceptance of it only further illuminates this change on a societal level.

Like all American gods, regular sacrifice is offered to the very real sexgod; and in a way that almost mirrors the abhorrent idolatry of ancient Israel. Whereas most idolatrous action is a display of misplaced passion, resources, and affection, each with their own varying degrees of affects; sex results in a host of other problems as well. Disease, broken families, perversion, and murder of the unborn are all results of sexworship.

The scary part is how little we even acknowledge how deeply it has affected our nature. Hollywood frequently champions the push to expand sex's reach, but advertising is a close runner up. Promiscuity, permissiveness, and the ongoing proliferation of sex have created an acceptable culture of sexual consumerism that degrades the delight of marriage, distorts the dignity of the human body, and destroys the dynamic of God-given gender roles.

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More posts in this series:

Etiquette, Etican, Etican't

Football, Athletes, and Idolatry

Mirrors, Models, and Muscles

Education

Sex

Culture Wars

Religious Tradition and Dissidence

Intolerance

Greed & Consumerism

Merica's gods: Education

I've spent the last several months thinking about the utter waste in our nation. We waste resources, education, and effort on a wealth of idolatrous pursuits that are at the epicenter of American culture. It makes me sad. It is deeply sinful. And one of the saddest parts about it is that the American church has done or is doing very little to call it's people to repentance. Shame on us. Some people are just educated beyond their own intelligence, or humility. Admittedly there are times that I battle with both. I love to learn. I am good at it. And I love to share what I learn. But there comes a point when someone actually does begin to be so well educated that they abandon all wisdom.

Probably the most blatant form of nonsense drummed up by this mentality is the prevailing presupposition that declares the supernatural impossible. Men have attributed such a high value to their capacity for understanding that they assume nothing can or does exist which might actually surpass that capacity. What an absolutely arrogantly absurd assumption! This is only one example. There are numerous others.

One of my favorite scriptures is Mark 12:30 in which Jesus answers a question by telling the gathered crowd that we should love God with all of our heart, soul, strength, and mind. Jesus is saying we should love God will all of our being. It is sad to me that instead of loving God with these aspects of our nature, we often choose instead to replace God with one of these aspects of our nature.

When we begin to hold dangerously lofty views of our own thoughts and opinions we begin to withhold the love of our mind from God, instead choosing to use our mind to love ourselves. When we continue to formulate ideas, or dwell on thoughts that promote ourselves we are doing the same thing in a different way. When we begin to weigh the value of someone based solely on the power of their mind, or whether or not we agree with their conclusions, we are in sin.

All over the country kids are starting back to school, universities are filling up, and teachers are heading back to work. Let's use this opportunity to develop our minds in a way that helps others, while loving God; and not a way that helps ourselves while loving ourselves.

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More posts in this series:

Etiquette, Etican, Etican't

Football, Athletes, and Idolatry

Mirrors, Models, and Muscles

Education

Sex

Culture Wars

Religious Tradition and Dissidence

Intolerance

Greed & Consumerism

Merica's gods: Mirrors, Models, and Muscles

I've spent the last several months thinking about the utter waste in our nation. We waste resources, education, and effort on a wealth of idolatrous pursuits that are at the epicenter of American culture. It makes me sad. It is deeply sinful. And one of the saddest parts about it is that the American church has done or is doing very little to call it's people to repentance. Shame on us. We love pretty people. We love strong people. We love people who are strong while they are pretty even more; and we love people who can make us feel strong or pretty most of all. The catch in this whole distorted thought process is that we have no idea what either or strong or pretty really are outside of our disastrously unhealthy presuppositions about physical appearance.

Guys often think we know what pretty is. We usually attribute it to a visually pleasing female image, after all, God did wire us that way, but that is really only one aspect of beauty...one that has been disfigured, embellished, and warped beyond recognition. This image most of us hold to about the nature of beauty is actually a sacred cow. It is an idol that our nation sacrifices billions of dollars to every year.

Sure, there is something aesthetically pleasing about attractive people, but that is only one aspect of a person's being. When it comes to strength and beauty we so often miss the mark by determining a person's worth based on their physical image. Another major pitfall here is how we measure our own worth based on these fickle indicators.

Anytime a person's image governs our reception of them, or our actions or attitudes toward them, we have made image an idol. Jesus plainly stated in scripture that how we treat other people is a direct indicator of how we treat Him.

Heaven help us to see people for who they are, to love them without condition, and to put to death the vulgar quest for the perfect image so many have become so consumed with.

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More posts in this series:

Etiquette, Etican, Etican't

Football, Athletes, and Idolatry

Mirrors, Models, and Muscles

Education

Sex

Culture Wars

Religious Tradition and Dissidence

Intolerance

Greed & Consumerism

Merica's gods: Football, Athletes, & Idolatry

I've spent the last several months thinking about the utter waste in our nation. We waste resources, education, and effort on a wealth of idolatrous pursuits that are at the epicenter of American culture. It makes me sad. It is deeply sinful. And one of the saddest parts about it is that the American church has done or is doing very little to call it's people to repentance. Shame on us. I was reading an article this morning about the new football stadium in Allen, TX. The pricetag for this new pigskin palace? $60 million. Oh, and did I mention that it's a high school stadium? The same school laid off 44 teachers last year. Wha.....?

We all know Texas loves their football, but lest we forget about the plank in our own eyes, so does pretty much everywhere else in this country. And if it's not football it's something else; basketball, baseball, soccer, this list could get really long if I kept going.

We idolize sports. American arenas are the modern version of their Greco-Roman counterparts, places where athletes competed in violent rites of competition. The spirit of competition is a large part of the problem. We don't know how to compete without making an idol out of it. We don't know how to recognize the incredible athleticism of someone without trying to promote them above who and what they are. We don't know how to watch without worshipping. Any time we attribute more value to something than it actually deserves we have turned it into an idol. Shame on us.

This latest monument to idolatry in Allen, TX is only one small part of a much larger issue. Those of us who call ourselves Christians need to openly repent, and then we need to ask God to help us change our behavior. We can start by detaching some of the passion we have for sports and redirecting in a way that brings God glory. There's nothing inherently sinful in turning on our TV and watching our favorite team, but there is something deeply sinful going on when we become overly passionate about it.

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More posts in this series:

Etiquette, Etican, Etican't

Football, Athletes, and Idolatry

Mirrors, Models, and Muscles

Education

Sex

Culture Wars

Religious Tradition and Dissidence

Intolerance

Greed & Consumerism

Merica's gods: Etiquette Etican Etican't

I've spent the last several months thinking about the utter waste in our nation. We waste resources, education, and effort on a wealth of idolatrous pursuits that are at the epicenter of American culture. It makes me sad. It is deeply sinful. And one of the saddest parts about it is that the American church has done or is doing very little to call it's people to repentance. Shame on us.

I once dated a girl that had attended a private Catholic school. At this school they spent about four hours a day learning manners. When she finally entered public school she was clueless when it came to the simplest of mathematical principles, but she knew what a salad fork was. One of the best lectures I ever heard in college came from my English Comp professor, who spent an hour explaining why grammar is silly. What do these two stories have in common? Etiquette.

In a lot of ways etiquette is stupid. We put such a high value on something of pretend importance that we often degrade people based on a perceived, and altogether faulty, system with absolutely no actual value. In a lot of ways we lift up etiquette as an idol, especially when we use it as a tool to pass a sinful judgement on someone.

Sometimes people smell bad. We snicker about it, or demean them, but how often do we hug them? How often do we give them a place of honor, instead of mockery? When did the value of their aroma surpass the worth of their humanity and dignity. It didn't.

Of course, there are some people who are blatantly rude. We call that being obnoxious. But really we only see them as obnoxious because they have infringed on our perception of acceptable social mores.

Etiquette is dumb. Like so many other things in our lives, it is a type of idolatry. Whether its a system of ideas that gauges how we value someone's appearance and image, a method of criticizing someone's written or spoken word, or an elaborately imagined acceptable formula for "appropriate" dining behavior, it has no value--and the moment we place more value on it than we do on the person committing an imagined infraction, we are idolaters.

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More posts in this series:

Etiquette, Etican, Etican't

Football, Athletes, and Idolatry

Mirrors, Models, and Muscles

Education

Sex

Culture Wars

Religious Tradition and Dissidence

Intolerance

Greed & Consumerism