"You know why banks are closed on Sunday?
Cos if they wasn't, church would be empty!"
- Chris Rock
Chris Rock is one of my all-time favourite stand-up comedians. If you can get past the some of the more lewd subject matter and live with his incredibly foul mouth then you discover he is miles ahead of anyone else on the modern comedy scene. The key to his genius rests almost entirely on his ability to look at topics that are important to our society such as politics, race and religion, and put them forward (with humour) in an unashamed and totally straight-on style. There is no sugar-coating, no delicate nature and no dancing around things.
So if he's spot-on in his narrative and perception, how does this quote make us feel?
This line comes from a routine about people's obsession with money, and while it's directed at Americans it offers a chilling depiction of a culture in which, whether we like it or not, 'church' is becoming more heavily rooted. You see, churches tend to mimick the world in an attempt to bring people in. The world has fast-paced pop music, so Christian music moves into the same style. The world has clubbing, and there are Christian dance venues opening up across the UK. This isn't a bad thing of course, the church has to change with culture otherwise it will lose it's relevance. But would we notice if we were gradually adopting other aspects of the world?
I recently found myself struggling money-wise as I was getting less and less hours in work, and it was looking like I would have to pull out of a couple of things I'd planned to do over the summer. It really stressed me out. I made it out to myself like it was the end of the world. I'd gone and bought a ticket to Oxegen and wasn't going to be able to go because I couldn't afford the travel costs. I'd committed myself to helping out at Summer Madness with my church youth group and wouldn't be able to afford it. As it happens, without me mentioning this at all a member of our congregation gave me some money because they felt I needed it, which was an incredible moment. But what does it say about the things I lean on that as soon as the money dries up my life is thrown into disrepair? Is that a sign that I rely on money too much? Is my hope truly built on nothing less that Jesus' blood and righteousness?
I'm a member of a church which is still working it's way through paying off a £3million building, and as such an awful lot of what we do is in some way associated with money, whether it's paid events or monthly donations. Now I'm not saying at all that our church is misplacing it's focus, but it certainly becomes messy when you try to rely on God as well as the things that money affords you. Especially when we read stories in the New Testament about how people met in houses and sold their possessions. It can kind of feel sometimes like we're getting gradually better and better at storing up earthly treasures. Or at least blurring the line of seperation between what's a necessity and what's an indulgence. Does a church need incredible lights, fabulously comfortable chairs and a sound system that could power Glastonbury? Or are those just things we subconsciously think give the image of our church that we want people to have? Seems like an important line to hold on to.
"He who has no rule over his own spirit is like a broken down city without a wall."
Proverbs 25:28
Don't get me wrong, money is a phenomenally grey area. Christians throughout the world sit at both ends of the spectrum, and none of them have the authority to judge any of the others. But surely we can at least agree that we have to try hard to have rule over our own spirit. Ask any Christian and (I hope!) they will tell you that they want God to have a higher grip on their spirit than money does. So if we take hold of our own spirit then we can totally make it God's. The first thing that comes to mind with me is that when I work, I feel like I've earned it. My job is dull, depressing and makes me get out of bed at 6 in the morning! I feel like I earn my week's wages! But not once do I ever thank God for the money. In a world where people die of starvation, a world where £2 a week can feed a family through some charities, not once do I thank God for the £50 I get every week. To me, that sounds like a key factor in offering my life to something other than God. The moment I forget to see something as a gift from God is the moment I have lost my focus; the moment I have lost rule of my spirit.
If you feel the same or agree at all, let's change it starting now. Maybe after a while the image people have of the church won't be that they're in church because the bank's closed :)
