Sermons
"Cheap god! No collateral down!"Pastor Ken Hilston |
Elections do many things beside elect someone to public office. The election process reveals a lot about who we are as people and how we act in trying to make difficult decisions. I'm sure this is not an isolated incident, but I remember around election time talking to a someone who worked in a large business in Ohio. The employee told me that his boss was "smart," at least by some people's standards.
The boss wanted to make sure, when the gubernatorial election was over, whoever was elected governor, he would have a friend in the governor's mansion. The boss gave equal large amounts of money to each candidate. Whoever was elected, would have to give him at least some support when favors were needed by him. He was hedging his bets. He bought a friend.
That to me was scary, in a variety of ways. The boss didn't care who the governor was, what they stood for or how good he would be for the people. He just wanted a piece of the governor. Nothing else mattered, as long as he could curry some favor when the time came for help. He was betting that his investment would pay off, and when the time came to ante up, the governor would help him out. He bet the governor would remember him, favorably, no matter what else he would do, and no matter who it was. All he cared about was what he could get out of it.
He not only paid the price of the campaign contribution, but the price of whatever that particular governor did that maybe hurt the state. Everybody has their price! But it is the cost of doing business!
It is strange how people down the centuries have evaluated God the same way, a strange, opportunistic, value conscience business decision. What can I get out of the faith?
In today's first lesson from the Acts of the Apostles, Paul arrives in Athens on his journey preaching to the people of Greece. Before arriving in Athens, Paul has some violent encounters with the very opinionated people from the synagogues, jealous of Paul's advice. Even rabble rousers were hired to usher him out of town, violently. Paul struck a raw nerve. The people were passionate about who they believed in.
Before going to Corinth, the Roman capital of the area, he arrives in the once major city of Athens. Now in decline, the past culture glistens as a faint reminder of how things had been when some of the greatest minds in the world held court, like Plato and Aristotle.
However, Athens no longer resembled that vibrant city. Paul enters a city that is more like a museum of its former self. Paul enters the area of the Areopagus, where in the past those gigantic minds once discussed great issues and relished in their high culture. Lately, the people were grasping at anything new that came along that might elevate them again to their past prominence. Unlike the synagogues in former cities, where there was but one strong thought about God, here was a smorgasbord of idols, representing almost anything and everything. Even the Stoics were interested in Paul, because he was saying something new. Everyone dabbled in everything. They were all curious, but from a distance. (550)
Paul reaches out to their natural curiosity, and openness, and gives them sort of a compliment: (Acts 17: 22) "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way, you are very religious. For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'To an unknown God.'"
The people had the start for Paul of an opening to what he wanted to say, but a strange start. This was the market place and they were consumers of religion and thought. Yes they were religious, but almost to anything even resembling religious, in ANYthing. Yes they were curious, but that only helped them to jump from one idea to another, what caught their attention, that day. They wanted to be ready, intellectually, for most anything that would come along. Nothing held their attention for long!
Most of their curiosity was saved for trying to get back to their glory years, the easy way. But, they were only curious for that, not for challenges and hard work. Yes they were religious, but their religion must meet them with a good answer to what they were looking for. "We are religious as long as it meets our needs! Tease me with something good that makes sense for our situation. This is a buyer's market. We already know what we want. How can you provide it?"
The consumer, the customer is always right!
Unlike in Thessolonica, instead of being insulted and threatened by what Paul said, these people only politely say thanks, but no thanks, and go someplace else for their answers. After all they were religious in a "civilized way." It was all right to have a lot of religions. "It doesn't matter what you believe, as long as you believe." and "Paul, you are just not offering us what we want from the religion store. But we are in the store. Come back to us when you can give us what intrigues us." It is hard to offend people who would answer our thoughts with politely ignoring us.
The idea of having an "unknown" god always intrigued me. They wanted to believe, and they thought they had some good answers, but "what if we pick the wrong answer? Let's have an idol to fall back on, just in case we have chosen the wrong god. That way, we have all of our bases covered. This idol will be our escape hatch in case we get caught with our religion down. Even if we make the wrong choice, this idol will be our backup plan, who cares whatever it means." (947)(989)
It has been said that upwards of 90-95% of our current population, believes in God, somehow. Like with Athens, they are curious and religious, but picky and in control of what kind of God they will believe in and let into their lives. As with Athens, it is up to God to pass their entrance test and fill out the kind of resume we find acceptable. People, like in Athens, are religious, curious about religion and open to anything that comes along, and in control of what we choose to believe. "Instead of fighting your answers, we will just ignore you and move on. There's no real pressure, for if we make a mistake now, we just move on to the next answer, until it fits. Curiosity will be our guide, and will lead us in the right direction, eventually."
People today, religious as they are, are very similar in nature to a recent mortgage commercial. Some computer program would let you shop for the best mortgage deal. The commercial takes place in their new home, with different bankers in each room, each trying to match the offer of another bank. Strutting around defiantly like they own the house already, the prospective owners make the bankers jump through different financial hoops. All they seemed to care about were the best rates. (Of course, that all changed quickly when this country found out about those great rates with very little collateral seemed to match the great rates of foreclosure.)
In the game of religion it seems to be the same. Religion has to cater to the needs of the people, giving them what they want, or they walk. "If I don't like what you offer, I always have the "unknown god" in my back pocket to fall back on. It's all up to you if you want my business!" Of course the god that asks the least from us, and promises the most for us, probably will foreclose on us when the chips are down. But who wants to put up any religious collateral if they don't have to! Which god offers the most, for the least effort?
Rome even did the Greeks one better, with great political correctness. They had an unknown god statue to both genders, "consecrated to either a god or goddess," fearing the wrath of either gender scorned and ignored. Maybe we all need to start our prayers with, "to whomever it concerns,' just in case we guess wrong."(1050) (1346)
Paul didn't do so well in Athens, as we do not do so well in the Athens of our world where everyone feels they are religious already, and what you believe in really doesn't make a difference. It is not easy to reach someone who feels they have that unknown wild card in their back pocket to fall back on, just in case they chose the wrong god to believe in, or pray tell, that god expects something from us!
Paul had the unenviable task, as is ours, to help people see that the whole process starts with God, not our consumer needs. People have an easier time the Athenian way, where we back or at least support, our own idols that we have created. Yes, people are religious, but of what?
People like an unknown god because it is not specific, but open ended. You can fill in the blanks anyway you want. You can make that god say or promise anything you want, holding little if any religious collateral. Why make a commitment if you don't have to? Back all candidates in an election. "How can you lose?"
In many ways, the Athenians were like the people of Israel without their sense of urgency. When Moses seemed to have abandoned them, they created their "unknown god," a Golden Calf. No one likes to commit themselves anymore than they have to. If your god doesn't seem to work well for you in the moment, find another one. Commitment is there only as long as it pays off, now. If your friend disagrees with you, find another one that is more reliable. Why work at that friendship when it's easier to just start over?
Paul understood, that not just in life, but in the faith, who you believe in is most critical. Yes, we can bounce around from unknown god, new friend, new this or that to almost anything else. However, that does not ever last forever.
The Golden Calf didn't look so good when Moses came back down the mountain and told them what the Lord God thought of it. The real estate developer who backed both candidates wound up with a terrible governor. The cozy couple, who made bankers jump through hoops, took the best offer of a cheap balloon mortgage that brought them an expensive foreclosure.
And the people of Athens, would go back, each day to the same discussions, that appealed for the moment, but got them really nothing. There was no return to the glory years, only cheap hopes backed by nothing. There was always a new "unknown god" each time they needed a new diversion from life. Each god was also mysteriously unknown, blank, and unhelpful.
Paul must have felt strange. On one hand, his presentation didn't almost cost him his life. They didn't even try to toss him in jail. However it must have been almost as hard to have people shrug their shoulders in apathy.
This is a strange world we live in, where the unknown and apathetic are better than known and alive. No faith collateral, no faith down, no faith commitment = no real God! AMEN (2000)(1928)
Borning Cry, Baptism
Choose friends carefully; not just quickly, then hold unto them; like Jesus, pray, be choosey; ask for help; look for good qualities;