A Monstrous Idol - Capitalism

A MONSTROUS IDOL

CAPITALISM

I Cor.10: ¹⁴ Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.

Idolatry is a sin. We often see it in the strict sense of bowing before a sculpture or a golden calf. We seldom see idolatry as it is practiced within our own culture since we do not physically bow before anything. However there are many idols among us as well as in the church regardless of how we do or do not bow before them physically. No one can worship God while he worships idols. This is a sad tale of spiritual adultery and a people who turned away from Christ in order to cling to false idols.

Some treat their homes and cars as idols. Some embrace sports teams or pets as idols. Some see their ethnicity or even their gender as idols. All of us are tempted to embrace idols in some form. But there is an idol which has not just crept into the church. It has been welcomed and celebrated. This idol has compromised almost every area of spiritual life. It has made people have divided loyalties. It has made people hate. It has made people embrace violence. It has made people self righteous. It has created sectarianism. And in many ways it has changed the nature of Christ and the nature of the gospel. The depth and seriousness of this spiritual compromise cannot be overstated.

I have watched and listened as preachers and Sunday School teachers and mature believers have fallen under the spell of this idol and have allowed it both change their views as well as change their tone. I do not know what else to do but to continue to expose this idolatry for the spiritual adultery that it is. It is commonly called nationalism and it is expressed as a love and allegiance for a certain nation. In this case it is of course America. Although I see some believers coming out of this major deception I continue to be most saddened by its continuing affect upon many more.

But I would like to peel off all the layers of this deception and expose it for what it is. The reason people love America and are willing to defend it even with war is because of the lifestyle it now provides. In essence, it is the prosperity in America which elicits affection and loyalty and even love. Yes, money itself is basically at the root of patriotism. If this were a very poor nation which offered little in the way of success it would be a somewhat different story. It was in the midst of this prosperity that the prosperity movement within the church was birthed. And most of the evangelical churches in America considers wealth to be a blessing from God without exception.

Even the moral issues take a back seat to money. It isn’t President Obama’s pro-choice stand which elicits the most fire from the church. It isn’t his stance on gay marriage either. He is called a socialist and portrayed as deconstructing the American way of life which is code for taking our property and money. People are against illegal aliens because they believe they are a strain on the American budget. The term “liberal” is a pejorative that indicates higher taxes and social programs. Everything either directly or indirectly revolves around money. “How can gay marriage revolve around money”, you ask? Watch:

 

 

And there it is unvarnished and naked for all to see. While the church contends that gay marriage is unbiblical on moral grounds many have ulterior motives. Can you actually believe such a thing? Matthew Hagee is the son of prosperity preacher John Hagee. Money and capitalism is a god to these kinds of hucksters and even gay marriage means a hit on our pocketbooks. What kind of twisted mind sees things like this economically? I will tell you. It is a mind consumed with the love of money. They see capitalism as a divine gift and a pathway to divine prosperity.

Of course I do not suggest any earthly economic structure as divine. But capitalism is basically an economic and political system which touts personal aggrandizement through industriousness and clever investment. It is seen as a ladder to personal and accumulated wealth.

So nationalism in America is completely tethered to the issue of wealth and the accumulation of such wealth. On earth there is little wrong with such a system, however how can we reconcile that with God’s Word? The New Testament is replete with warnings about seeking wealth and storing up such wealth. But it is astounding how clear Scriptural teaching has been sacrificed upon the altar of the cultural norm. When it comes to money, the lusts of men’s hearts have become the driving exegetical force. Personal wealth is the peg hole into which the cylinder of Scripture must fit.

Money is little more than the tangible revelation of extreme narcissism which is the antithesis of the Christian faith and practice. When a culture has been built, processed, and made successful upon the making and keeping of money then it can have an enormous affect on people’s thought patterns and perspectives. Anyone who seems to inhibit our path to financial gain is met with disdain and acrimony. And those who seem to be supported by our hard fought financial gain without showing an acceptable level of industriousness are often hated. Money is a pie from which everyone draws and about which many fight. I am owed my slice of that pie and I must build upon that first slice until I own my own pie.

And when a culture encourages behavior both openly and subtly to that end, then the integrity of the Christian faith is in jeopardy. There can be only two paths for our faith when we live in and among a culture such as this. Either we humbly but forcefully fight to remain separated from the philosophies of that culture, or we slowly but surely acquiesce to those philosophies. And if the church embraces those philosophies, then there is no battle at all. And eventually the church construct, the church practices, the church buildings, and even the church theology become a reflection of the culture rather than of Scripture.

And even dismissing the carnal ramblings of such men as Hagee, the western church has become a powerless organization which spends obscene amounts of money on staff and buildings and self serving activities. Sunday after Sunday millions upon millions of evangelical church members pour into debt ridden buildings for a few hours and then return to their innocuous and unremarkable lives which appear very similar to those who stayed home on Sunday. And because the church has become a willing part of the culture, words of hate, words of complaint, words of greed, words of pride, and all kinds of words in support of vain philosophies are common within the community of faith.

And woven within the entire fabric is money and a hedonistic lifestyle. The deception has become so deep and so profound that even capitalism is embraced as coming down from heaven. Any criticism of capitalism is viewed as an attack on America and vice versa. But we as believing followers of Jesus should never embrace anything except the words which proceed from God’s mouth. And if we take just the Sermon on the Mount alone as a divine template, well we must admit we have strayed far from home. That is unless we chose to defend our opinions over God’s Word. And if that is what you desire than you need not go further than the Sunday morning service.