Entertainment Christianity

“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:20,21

If you haven’t had an opportunity yet to read last weeks post, you can go here to do so. We are continuing the topic on consumerism, specifically this week, consumerism and the church. Stephen Mattson has a lot of good things to say about this, so for this weeks post, we will be featuring his piece, “Entertainment Christianity.”

In today’s world where everywhere we go we are inundated with media messages about what to buy, where to vacation, what is supposedly important in life to be happy, healthy, wealthy, wise – it isn’t any wonder we are Spiritually bankrupt, and that our living beautiful planet is being plundered.

According to those who bring us the goods and services they want us to buy, life is depicted as a sort of Disney Land, that in order to live it to it’s fullest, we are suppose to go from one joy ride to the next.   In Stephen’s post, he says:  “Our consumer mindset has trained us to believe that if something isn’t to our liking, we can find a better product—and plenty of other products exist within Christianity.”

Now Stephen is of course referring to other Christian churches “with better kids’ ministries, summer camps, worship services, pastors, youth groups and outreach ministries” as he points out.  What I hope you will do as you read this post is also think about the mindset of the consumer today (Christian or non) and the underlying implications of being such for this beautiful planet upon which all flesh lives and depends:

• think about wanting what we want when we want it…
• the affects of this on our land and rivers and oceans…
• on forests and rainforests…
• think about the monarch butterfly, or any bird species that depends on it’s migrating to find the habitat it needs to make it another season…
• think about what you last saw at Walmart as you stood at the check out counter…where does all this stuff come from, how/what is it made from, who suffered in sweat shops, what species of animals are almost extinct, how was the monarch butterfly affected, or the rainforest, or the ocean…
• where does all this stuff end up? (Remember our video from last week…and think about the mindset that is behind all this stuff…what lies underneath….why do we fill up our lives with all of this?  What is missing, what are we searching for?)

What is happening in the picture being painted above is also what is behind the search for a new church that will give us more of what we think we need or want.  What is “our treasure?”  This is the heart – it is what we will spend our time on, invest in, value, protect, nurture, sustain and fill our life with.  What does our Lord and Savior want us to nurture and protect?  What does He value?  Is His creation of value to Him?  Are we seeking “first His kingdom and His righteousness?” (Matthew 6:33)
Stephen so rightly coins it when he says, “…but our desire for satisfaction is rarely fulfilled beyond a faith in Christ.”

Thanks for tuning in and reading!