Religious Consumerism
We live in a consumer society and in many ways that is wonderful!
Our economic system is among the freest in the world. Individuals with initiative can begin their own businesses and provide products and services to meet the needs of those around them. Those who successfully meet the needs of their customers thrive, while those who do not meet the needs will disappear.
The result of this for our society is a high standard of living, greater convenience, and a multitude of choices to satisfy our many desires. For example, recently, my family went on vacation. We flew into San Francisco and rented a vehicle at the airport. There are no less than ten different car rental agencies at that airport. We chose Avis, because it offered a mini-van with unlimited mileage at a price $150 lower than its competitors. What a blessing the mini-van proved to be, serving our needs while saving us money!
While our consumer culture can be a real blessing when it comes to renting a car or buying a washing machine, it can be real damaging if we transfer that consumer mindset into the area of religion. Within the last six months a number of people have commented to me: “Immanuel just isn’t meeting our spiritual needs.”
Such comments can be very helpful. They cause a pastor to re-evaluate his ministry and that of the congregation (cf. 2 Corinthians 13:5). Is he spending enough time preparing his sermons so that they clearly present both the Law and the Gospel, as well as provide easy application to the lives of members? Is the congregation providing a program whereby the legitimate spiritual needs of all its members are being met?
The result of these particular comments has been personal schedule adjustments to provide more time for areas that need it, and staff discussions about areas of weakness in our program together with suggestions regarding how we might strengthen those areas.
Those same comments, however, can reveal a disturbing trend towards “religious consumerism” in our society. “Religious consumerism” is the idea that the primary purpose of the church is to meet personal needs and desires. It is often combined with the attitude that if one church does not meet those needs and desires, the solution is simply to shop around until one finds a church that does.
St. Paul warns us that such attitudes reflecting a spirit of “religious consumerism” would arise during New Testament times. He wrote Timothy, “The time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4). Such attitudes indicate a lack of understanding both with regard to the message of Jesus Christ and the mission of His Christian Church.
As I evaluated my ministry and that of the congregation, I also tried to evaluate the level of involvement in our congregational life on the part of those who had made the statements. In each case, the level of involvement was minimal. The individuals did not attend worship services or receive the Lord’s Supper regularly. They did not often involve themselves in available organizations or events which offered them fellowship opportunities and would have afforded them spiritual growth. They were seldom, if ever, available for volunteer opportunities at church or with other members of the congregation. One might legitimately ask: “How can you expect a church to meet your spiritual needs, if you choose to remain uninvolved in congregational worship and life?”
Even that question, however, misses the larger issue.
The message of Jesus Christ is a universal message of Law and Gospel, of sin and grace. It reveals our utter sinfulness and that of the entire world. It pronounces judgment upon all sin and asserts clearly that no human being can overcome sin on his own (cf. Romans 3:10-20). At the same time it shares with us God’s universal solution for the problem of sin. The solution is through the redemption of Christ (cf. Romans 3:21-26). The message of Jesus Christ also describes the brilliant future God has in store for all who by faith accept it (cf. Revelation 21:1-7).
The message of Jesus Christ does satisfy our deepest needs and desires. However, if we avoid hearing God’s Word, we will fail to understand our fundamental problem of sin and will inevitably fail to appreciate the significance of God’s grace. Then we will become selfish and self-centered, concerned simply about meeting our lesser needs and satisfying our personal desires.
The gospel message of Jesus Christ is much greater than any one person, for it is a message of universal grace and redemption (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21). The Gospel proclaims God’s love for the world, revealed in His Son who was sent to deliver the world from everlasting judgment (cf. John 3:16-17). Failing to understand this, ultimately undermines the mission of the Christian Church and our role within that Church.
The gospel message of Jesus Christ calls us, not to a life of satisfying self, but rather, to a life of loving service and sacrificing self as we are moved by faith to build others up to the glory of God (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:15; Romans 12:1; Colossians 3:17)! We have been saved to serve (cf. Luke 1:74-75). Ironically, as we seek to meet the needs of others with the message of God’s redeeming love, our own needs will be met and we will find our personal desires are often fulfilled in the most unexpected ways (cf. Psalm 37:3-7)!