A Consumeristic World
A few weeks ago my parents were in town and so my wife and I were able to go out on a date night.
Here’s how you know you’ve been married over 20 years. We went to eat at a restaurant where we had a gift card to pay for our meal. Then we went to Best Buy to look at buying a new Vacuum Cleaner! Yes, talk about a hot date night! As we’re looking at vacuum cleaners, my wife picked out the ones she was interested in. Then I started looking up all the reviews on my phone for her to read.
We live in a world that reads reviews before it chooses just about anything.
We read reviews before we go to a new restaurant. We read reviews before we hire someone to work on our house. We read reviews before we watch a movie. We read reviews before we make a major purchase.
We check out the reviews on Google, Facebook, Yelp, wherever we can.
WHY? Because we live in a consumeristic world.
Consumerism and the Church
The problem this creates for the church today is that when we stop thinking about what it means to BE the church and we start looking for a church that has great reviews, that meets our needs, that will serve us, or serve our family, that does all the things we like the way we like, then what we’re doing is essentially is applying a consumeristic mindset to choosing a church.
A consumer, by definition, looks at things through a self-centered set of lenses.
And if you’re looking for a restaurant, a new vacuum, or someone to work on your house… that’s probably a good idea!
But when it comes to church, we might need a different way.
A Different Way
There was a time when being a part of a church wasn’t conditional on the music, the preaching, the programs. Being a part of a church was about being a part of a community that loved each other, served each other, and supported each other through this life. (Acts 2, 4).
But these days people choose a church not based on community but based on which church meets their requirements for what they like.
The good news is that there is another way. There’s another way to think about what it means to BE the church. There’s a way forward out of the consumeristic mindset that has infected the church and a way back to BEING the church that Jesus had in mind for us.
Serving One Another
In Galatians 5.13-15, Paul writes…
For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to SERVE one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
This is what it means to BE the church… you and I as followers of Jesus have been set free FROM sin by Jesus and because of that freedom we can now SERVE one another in LOVE.
Apart from what Jesus did on the cross, we are not free. We are slaves to the law, we are slaves to sinful desire. And sin is always selfish. There’s no such thing as sin that is not selfish!
But we are no longer slaves… we are free! And what freedom does is it makes a way for us to turn our attention…
FROM OURSELVES
TO
ONE ANOTHER!
The Family of Faith
Paul says this is essentially what the Law was trying to point to all along when it said to, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
The intention and heart of God from the very beginning has been for us to be free to love each other.
If you keep reading, he makes it crystal clear. In Galatians 6.10, Paul writes:
In Galatians 6:10 he writes…
Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.
What Jesus did on the cross, it’s wasn’t just about what we’re free FROM. It’s about what we’re free FOR!
Now we are free to SERVE one another in LOVE!
Feet
This is what Jesus was teaching his disciples right before he went to the cross.
Jesus taught them to, “Love each other as I have loved you.”
In this moment Jesus is gathered together with his closest disciples for one last meal. Before the meal, it’s customary for the person with the least amount of status in the room to wash the feet of those around the table before the meal.
Typically this is a servant who is assigned this role, this job. And it’s not a pleasant job. In those days people traveled everywhere by foot, walking from place to place down dusty roads, roads traveled by people and by animals. And many of those animals used those roads for more than walking if you know what I mean!
By the end of the day, your feet, protected only by sandals if anything at all, are covered in dirt, dung, and God only knows what else. Not a pleasant sight or smell as you prepare sit on the floor at a table to eat a meal.
And in this moment with his disciples, Jesus, the most important person in the room does the unthinkable.
Someone should have served HIM! But he’s the one who gets up from the table, takes the towel, and washes the feet of His disciples. And when he’s finished, you could hear a pin drop.
These disciples who thought they had seen it all are once again left speechless. This time, they’re not in awe and wonder of a miracle, they’re amazed at Jesus because he took up the towel and humbled himself to SERVE them. They should have served him. But they didn’t even think about it.
Jesus saw the need, took up the towel, and served those who needed their feet washed. And then Jesus said…
“…since I, your Lord & Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each others feet. I have given you an example to follow.” – John 13.14
Being the Church
What does it mean to BE the church?
Jesus showed us. This is what it looks like. We serve one another in love!
In a world consumed with consumerism…. In a world where the questions revolve around… What’s best for me? What about what I like? And, What about what I want? The church is called to ask a different set of questions.
Once upon a time when you walked into your local Walmart you would see this…
I know that not everyone who wore this vest was always helpful, BUT… I loved what Walmart put on these blue vest that all their employees wore.
Maybe as a church we should put on a vest like this. And we should probably just keep it on! Because this is the question we should always be asking. When we do, it turns our focus from ourselves toward others!
How Can I Help?
If you ask my kids, they will tell you this is my favorite question! At supper time when they’re all standing around I’ll ask them two questions. I’ll say, Ask yourself, “What do we need? How can I help?” All of a sudden they spring into action. One of them gets the napkins. Another one grabs the forks and plates. They all get busy helping!
These are the kinds of questions disciples of Jesus are always asking. These are the kinds of questions that should be on the heart of those who belong to the local church.
What do they need?
And, How can I help?
From the moment Jesus took the towel to wash the feet of his disciples to the moment that Paul instructed the church that we should “serve one another in love,” it has been made crystal clear that we should always look out for one another and look for ways to serve one another.
Churches that do this not only flourish, but they witness to the world around them what it means to be the church.
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