“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33 KJV)
OK, I have to admit: I do not watch much Christian TV or radio. As someone who actually believes that correct and orthodox theology is kind of essential to Christian growth, all most Christian media would just have me wondering: Who is actually following this stuff as a mechanism for Christian growth? I’m not saying that all of it is bad, but Wow! You really have to dig deep in order to find good preaching these days.
But when I do listen or watch, I find myself asking: What would be the appeal to join their ministries if you are rich, well-adjusted and have a good family life and marriage? I wonder what they will say to that guy!
See, to many of these ministries, the biggest draw to accepting Jesus Christ as Lord is that you can get that big house, nice car, good man or woman, great kids and/or general happy state of being while you traipse through the earth without any cares or burdens. But, if you have a good marriage, a house bigger than you need, a couple of cars that are expensive and a family you know love you very much; then you really don’t need this “Christian” business, right?
I can go on and on, but I can say that there’s a great turning away from Christian churches in the U.S. and in Western civilization. Know why? Some may say that we are becoming “Post-Christian”, which sounds like Christianity is fast becoming irrelevant in modern Western culture. Well I contend that it’s not Christianity that’s becoming irrelevant, but whatever that is which is popular in modern Western culture on TV, books and radio that disguises itself as Christianity has exhausted its course.
Think about it: Why do you need those kinds of messages when you can be inspired by great motivational speakers like Tony Robbins? Or get your family affairs psychoanalyzed by Dr. Phil? Or go to Dave Ramsey to get your finances in order? These options are available and you don’t need things such as faith or sacrifice, the Cross, or even have to deal with eternal matters at all! Small wonder why there’s this draw-down in church attendance: The messages are easier attained OUTSIDE the church without any breach of moral conscience.
But to this culture, I have to ask: WHAT ABOUT THE SPIRITUAL???
Remember when people used to go to church to learn spiritual things? No, not spiritual laws that people dredge up in order to manipulate the scriptures in order to get what they want—but to engage, maintain and grow a spiritual communion with God Almighty… not for the promise that you’re going to be rich or thin or happy; but peaceful, loving, joyful, gentle, kind, good and with self-control? (Gal. 5:22-23)
Remember when people used to go to church and talk about how they went through the most horrendous things yet didn’t complain, but speak about how their spiritual well-being remained intact through it all? Remember when sermons were about your soul?
Can I dare say that the world, even Modern Western culture, stills desires to seek that which is spiritual in nature. This message works whether you’re rich, poor, young, old, American, Iranian, etc. That message never loses relevance, but is still valid even through the ancient texts. Seek that first and find yourself at the cutting edge of spiritual matters and possess a voice in this culture that needs to be heard!
Mo Walker
twitter.com/mowalker
