About seven years ago, we moved into a new neighborhood. One
of the important things we wanted to do right a way was find a grocery store.
After visiting each of the candidates in our area, we settled on a Safeway
about two miles from our house. For the past seven years, we’ve driven past
another store and done our shopping at that Safeway. Why? We like this Safeway
better than the QFC. It meets our needs and satisfies some of our wants.
Similarly, I’m a Mac guy. I own a MacBook Pro, an iPhone and an iPad. I love
the Apple Store and probably always will. Apple meets my needs as a consumer. Yes,
I’m a consumer. In our society it’s pretty tough not to be.
I really don’t think that being a consumer is bad when it is
confined to such choices as where to purchase groceries or what type of
computer to buy. The problem comes when we apply the principles of consumerism
to those areas of life that require a completely different approach.
One such area is marriage. Once I am married, I’m off the
market. I no longer need look for a better spouse or compare my spouse to
others. I’m done looking. I’m committed to my spouse for life. Unfortunately a
cursory look at our society will show us that consumerism has deeply entered
and impacted how we view and approach marriage and the results are
catastrophic.
Likewise, there is no place for consumerism in the Kingdom
of God. Not many things make Jesus angry, but the leaders in His time had made
the Temple of God into a “marketplace”, bringing on Jesus denunciation and
fury. (See John 2:16). Jesus’ Kingdom does not call for consumers, but just the
opposite. He calls for “producers”
In Matthew 21:33-43 Jesus
tells a story of tenants working in a vineyard. Each time the owner of the
vineyard sent representatives to collect his share of the crop; the tenants
mistreated them and gave no fruit. Finally the owner sent his son whom the tenants murdered. At the end of the
parable, Jesus draws this lesson, “Therefore I tell
you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people
who will produce its fruit.” (Matthew 21:43 NIV). Jesus was looking for
producers, not consumers.
It’s interesting to me that few people even notice the
rampant consumerism in the body of Christ today, yet they are so quick to
criticize anyone who talks about production. Granted, there are abuses of the
concept of producing in the Kingdom and I will talk about them in my next post,
but let’s be clear on what Jesus is looking for: “My true disciples produce
much fruit. This brings great glory to my Father.” (John 15:7–8 NLT)
