In the chapter of Tim Keller’s book Counterfeit Gods, Keller argues that money is among the most dangerous idols. This is a sentiment that I’ve agreed with for a long time. Something that often sends waves of potent distasted through me when I see it in the church at large. But, I have always had difficulty articulating the real problem. But I think Keller hits it on the head—or at least comes close.

“It is because greed and avarice are especially hard to see in ourselves.”

Yes. Yes, yes, yes. As Keller rightly points out, everyone seems to agree that the world is a flagrantly greedy place. It’s virtually everywhere we look. But, regardless of its prevalence, virtually no one sees themselves as ‘greedy’. So, the problem spins out of control, but no one can tell.

Keller, later, continues to explain in more detail what’s really going on.

“Once you are able to afford to live in a particular neighborhood, send your children to its schools, and participate in its social life, you will find yourself surrounded by quite a number of people who have more money than you.”

We live with all-things-relative. Greed is less about how much you spend, but the heart you have when you spend it. There’s almost always someone who’s spent more then you have and this leaves us feeling justified in our actions. Whether they are objectively right or not. In effect, it makes our own greed invisible to us.

On a corporate level, greed would seem to be on the elder’s board of many churches. Certainly our new building is bigger than we need it to be, but have you seen the cathedral down the street? Sure, we could have easily gotten by without buying that bus for our church, but at least we didn’t buy a fleet of busses like that church over there! Simply because the church culture in a given geographic area spends money in a certain way doesn’t make it right or okay.

Here in Annapolis, people are very wealthy. Simply because some church members drive $60,000 vehicles, doesn’t mean the pastors are justified in purchasing $40,000 vehicles.

I personally have never felt that I was a greedy person. But, Keller’s analysis of the problem is wrought with logic and demands that I reconsider myself and my heart. Even some basic reflections on myself reveal that there is greed hiding that I justify by the more privileged around me.

I pray that can and will change.

If you read my blog, even on a semi-regular basis, you know I’ve gone on rants about this before. I’ll probably end up repeating myself here too. But in the discussion about things that have been stupidly Christianized, it would be a travesty to leave out this moronic nugget of our church culture.

Retail Stores

Shortly after becoming a Christian, I took a job at a local Christian bookshop. It was among the most defining times as a Christian thus far. Day in, day out, I became well acquainted with the types of inventories that came in. I even got to know some of the distributor’s sales people in the process. What I learned wasn’t pretty.

Much like the Christian music industry, Christian retailers (the truly corporate ones, anyway) create a false sense of security in their patrons minds. It’s the sense that the inventory is ‘safe’. That somehow, the products that are carried have an intrinsic spiritually enriching quality to them. In fact, from a purely business standpoint, it’s quite a brilliant scheme.

However, the reality is, the business isn’t too unlike any other retail store. They stock what will sell… to Christians. And, unfortunately, since the majority of Christians are poorly versed in basic theology, what will sell is pretty much anything with a bible verse printed on it.

Bibles

Most of the Christian retails shops I’ve been in have carefully nestled the bible selection, (which isn’t even much more extensive than what you’ll find at Borders), in the back of the store. Forcing customers to walk past a great deal of impulse buy items. Things virtually no one needs and, in fact, would probably be better off without. As an employee, I can attest that these items sell a lot more frequently than you’d think.

When you finally do get to the Bibles, they’re usually 10-20% more than they are at secular retailers.

Then, there’s the bible covers. The selection is nearly as big as the bibles themselves. And so is the price. With the exception of a place to keep you pen, I still don’t see the value in these things. In fact, from my experience with people, Bible covers actually seem to inadvertently discourage the reading of the bible outside of formal settings—like bible study, or Sunday morning services. Of course, it’s not true for everyone. But it sure seems like there’s a correlation. Maybe not.

Greeting Cards

I don’t get this. The church should be about personal investment in each others lives. If I’m going to encourage a brother with something written, I’d want to write it myself. And if someone wanted to encourage me, I’d want it to come from them.

But the whole Christian greeting card thing seems to be exactly the opposite concept. Rather than Christians being moved by scripture that comes about in their private meditation, and passing those encouraging words on to brothers and sisters, the burden is passed onto the greeting card publishers. Little fortune-cookie bits of scripture, mass printed onto little 4×6 inch cards to cover a variety of situations.

People barely have to think about God’s word and barely have to think about each other. Just grab a card and pay (too much) for it.

Self-Help & Leadership

Bigger than even the Bible commentary selection is usually the self help and/or leadership section. Make no mistakes. I’m not mislabeling these books. They really are self-help books. Weigh loss, confidence, organization, parenting. They’re all there. Most of us would have difficulty picking these out as ‘Christian’ resources if it weren’t for the cover and an (out-of-context) bible verse or two.

Leadership is another big deal. And not just church leadership either. All kinds of leadership. I remember reading one of these books as part of a church internship I did years ago. Let me tell you, there was virtually nothing of any real spiritual value in there. Flipping through quite a lot of those books during my stay at the Christian bookshop I feel fairly confident in my assertion that this isn’t uncommon.

In fact, the methods of leadership they promote, I think, are methods that are pretty much absent from scripture. Instead, I think these methods tend to build rigid hierarchies among brothers and sisters, which ultimately stunts spiritual growth and bolsters pride in the ‘leaders’ exercising them.

Knick-knacks & Gifts

Gum. Candy. Stuffed animals. Soap. Plaques. Paintings. “Artwork”. Figurines. Lotions. The list could go on.

Most of this is the epitome of junk. Things that will inevitably end up in the attic or at the thrift store. Occasionally, the plaques may have something truly inspirational on them. But most of them are out of context or borderline arrogant to place on your wall.

Is gum or candy with a a bible verse on it really better in some way than snickers or skittles? And, is it really worth spending, literally, three times as much on? No of course not. Especially since most of these don’t even seem to support any kind of worthy organization.

The children’s toys are borderline offensive, too. I remember receiving a huge shipment of stuffed animals—lambs. They were bright white and super soft. They each had a little heart on them reading “God’s Little Lamb”. You might say, “Now wait a minute, that’s perfectly biblical”. Yeah, except for how damn cute they were. The biblical imagery of God’s Lamb is a grotesque and painful one. It’s a reminder that we are sinful to our core and that we are covered in that lambs blood.

In fact, I think the only real value in this type of thing is during the holidays, when people may wish to decorate their home. These are the only place you can usually find strongly religiously oriented decorations. But even these are often misguided.

In Conclusion

I strongly believe these stores do harm to the church. Whether it be in reinforcing negative stereotypes about the church, or by numbing our spiritual senses, allowing a corporate entity to do the thinking for us.

There are alternatives to Christian retailers. Borders and Barnes & Noble stores generally carry most of the same literature—often times for cheaper. But even better than that, Amazon.com’s used marketplace is safe and usually has a selection of just about everything their Christian counterparts do, usually for a fraction of the cost. (For example, I purchased John Piper’s Desiring God used from Amazon for 1/4th the cost of buying it from the local Christian retailer—even with shipping).

Some may object on the grounds that the markup on Christian material is routed to various ministries. This is usually just not true. Especially considering Zondervan is the maker of a huge amount of Christian merchandise. And Zondervan is absolutely a for-profit organization.

So, my advice, avoid Christian retailers as much as possible. Save money by buying online and set the extra cash aside and give it to your local church, missionaries or organizations you feel compelled to support.

But whatever you do, just don’t get sucked into this monster.

I never stopped to think much about the fact that Jesus commanded his disciples to gather up the leftover pieces of bread and fish after he’d multiplied them for the five thousand.

John 6:12:

“…Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, "Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.”

It seems like, if there were ever a time where wasting food didn’t matter, it would be this one. I mean, they started with some barley loaves and two fish and Jesus turned it into enough to feed thousands, then still had twelve baskets of food left over.

Jesus created food out of thin air, then determined that it was crucial that none be wasted.

I’m sure there’s a lot to think about here. But my own first thought was about stewardship. Especially as Americans. We really are, in some ways, in a kind of Jesus-feeding-the-five-thousand scenario. This little fledgling country in just a few hundred years exploded into one of the most powerful, prosperous countries on the planet.

But now, in so many ways (from portion sizes, to the number of cars on the road), as a nation we’re really not treating the prosperity with the kind of reverence that Jesus treated the miracle.

It really makes you think. Waste, even when it doesn’t hurt anyone, isn’t something to be proud of.

Proverbs 25:16:

If you have found honey, eat only enough for you,
   lest you have your fill of it and vomit it.

I suppose this is kind of a continuation from yesterday.

With all that the bible says about money and the way we ought to think of it and use it, it’s amazing that the American church seems to just ignore it.  Most of the church would never ignore a pastor slipping into sexual sin, when they were aware of it. But there’s thousands of churches with pastors driving $60,000 cars, flying first class to their summer vacation home and wearing $3000 suits, and no one bats an eye.

I just don’t get it.

I’d like to see it change, in me and in the rest of the church, but admittedly, I’m not sure exactly where to begin. Or, if it’s even my place.

The health wealth and prosperity gospel seems to be one of the great heresies of our day. There are the obvious manifestations of it in the media and some mega-churches, but I think that it appears subtly in most churches. In most of our churches. In most of us.

Money is a touchy subject for me. I cannot say exactly why, but since becoming a Christian, it’s always been a sensitive topic—the way the church chooses to use her money. The way I choose to use my money.

John Piper I am convicted by and agree with John Piper:

“We have been taken in by the half-truth that says we glorify God with money by enjoying thankfully all luxuries He enables us to buy. The true half is this: we should give thanks for every good thing God gives us. That does glorify Him. The false half is the subtle implication that God can be glorified in this way by every decent purchase we make.”

John Piper –
Brothers We are Not Professionals

When we’re spending so much money on our selves, we have less money to prove (to others and to ourselves) that indeed we do love Jesus more than we love our money. I hope I will be able to heed my own contention.