A recent TV show called: ‘Secret of the Super brands’
(Technology) which you can find on YouTube, did an interesting study around the
fanatical devotion that people have towards Apple products. The show reveals
that when brain activity was observed through a CT scan, people’s reaction when
shown an Apple product revealed a pattern of brain activity in the region of
the brain that is similar to those who have had religious experiences.
The show then made a comparison between the appearance of an
Apple Store with the furniture within a traditional Anglican Church… the beech
tables are devoid of features and can be viewed as an altar; offering up the
various Apple products on them. As consumers we crowd around the Altar and
worship and marvel at the technology. Then similar to the church layout, you
move through the stages from worshiping and idolising the product, through to
the commitment to buy; you have a discussion with an advisor about how having
the product in your life will add to your lifestyle; before moving through to
payment and acquiring that which you covet!
I’ve deliberately used some emotive language here to trigger
reactions in the way that I have phrased the description above… idolising;
covet; worship. These are strong themes within the commandments given to Moses
about how God’s people should conduct themselves in the market place… We should
have no other Gods; do not make any idols; do not misuse the name of God; you
should not covet… are just a few of the 10. They directly relate to our
relationship with things.
I love car design and F1 in particular. If I idolise the
drivers or covet the lifestyle of the teams and the glamour, which makes me
neglect my responsibilities to God and to my family, then I suppose it becomes
an issue. I have to ask myself how much my fondness for F1 prevents me from
being the person God wants me to be because my interests are in split between
two different places. We can have healthy interests and develop a fascination
for a wide variety of things in the world, but if that is what we chase after,
we may need to check our dials.
Please don’t get me wrong, as a teacher of design, I love
new technologies and great aesthetic products that somehow transcend their
physical properties. Some are very intuitive to use and seem to be a natural
extension of our personalities. I believe in a creator God who equipped us to
have inquisitive skills, exploring our known world; to grow beyond our known
existence; and to live in harmony with the earth.
When this is used for good, you get an amazing expression of
what it is to be human. There are many issues in the world where God is blamed
for inactivity, or seeming not to care, but he has placed in each of us the
potential to do the right thing; to step out of our comfort zone and engage
with the world around us. This is how God works in the world – through us. If
we take something like the battle for people in the developing world to access
to clean water for example, we already have the technology to go into countries
to support clean water project. It takes people to see the challenge and
understand God’s will for our lives; ask God to use you in the task set out
before you…
I am certain when looking at the volume of charitable
humanitarian work, that God inspires people to make the difference with their
lives and use their knowledge to make a difference in the lives of other people.
I would argue that those who reject God, and pick up the humanitarian cause;
embrace the rights and needs of people who cannot defend themselves, are still
working for God… they just don’t know it yet! We will come back to this a
little later.
I have had conversations with people about how wonderful products
from many different brands are in the eyes of the people who have bought into
the technology. They have seen something in the product that transforms their
lifestyle or interaction with the outside world. They can go on-and-on about
how marvellous the device is, in an almost evangelistic tone. Imagine then, if
we can find in our faith, the same level of enthusiasm to share the good news
that Jesus spoke about. We have so much blessing from God who loves us so much.
We need to share the love of God’s grace to all.
We need to be listening to what God is calling us into. We
are encouraged to live in the world, but not become part of it. Jesus talks
about people being salt and light in the world but warns us to be cautious
about losing our saltiness. But what does that look like? We know that salt is
used as a seasoning as well as a preservative. So what can we do in our
churches, communities, families and friendships that adds seasoning to our
lives and those of others, while preserve the values that God has set out for
us.
Jesus talks about storing up treasure in heaven as on earth
they will corrode and grow dusty and we cannot take it with us! We invest in
people then. We encourage our families by showing them our generous
hospitality. By the lives that we live, we reveal God’s heart alive in us. Are
we ready to care for the poor, the homeless, the hungry, the widow, the orphan?
Would we be willing to grow out of consumerism and living materialistic lives,
towards an alternative way of living?
We can see from the banking crisis all around the world,
that when major losses hit the banks, government and business, their immediate
role is to minimise the losses they have made. They are accountable to their
shareholders and must still pay a dividend or show profits… those with money do
not like to lose it! Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell all he had and
give to the poor. The man was shocked by this because in the culture of the
time, prosperity meant that you were being blessed by God. The man felt that he
had fulfilled what he knew of the law. Jesus knew that the fulfilment of the
law wasn’t in wealth and position, but was in serving.
Jesus told many parables about how the kingdom he was
establishing operated. In Luke 16, he tells a very strange parable about how a
dishonest servant gains the admiration of his master by halving the bills of
debtors to receive some of the income owed, whilst gaining favour with those
whose debt had been relieved. Jesus goes on to say that this man knew he was
accountable for his action and the resources he had to use. He also stated that
those who operate in the world can do so much better than someone who has
become a Christian because they are shrewd with their dealings. This is
challenging stuff because the servant was gaining favour by dishonesty.
Jesus turns this around by saying look, this man profited
from being generous to those in debt in order to save himself; by being
dishonest to his master… how much more should Christians be prepared to show
generosity to all we come across; to answer for the hop we have within us; to
find favour with people through are servant heart; to reveal God’s heart because
we too have been shown God’s Grace in wiping away our debt.
Jesus also points out that as salt and light, we cannot live
our lives by gaining through dishonesty… We need to be willing to lay down our
possession in order to focus on the greater prize of eternal life. Jesus taught
about the value we place on money because it was as culturally relevant then,
as it is today. God understands the needs of the world and hopes that we will
follow in his footsteps and follow his lead. God’s mission has always been to
reach out to the world he created, and bring us back into his presence. This is
our calling and our destiny, to show in our lives, the nature and character of
God. We can reveal Jesus in out hospitality, our serving and our hearts, so
that the good news of the gospel can be seen at work in this world.
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