Not even our churches are immune from the effects of today’s consumer culture. Shopping is by no means confined to the mall and the Internet. “Church shopping” is also a popular pastime.
People today, it seems, approach the business of finding a church in much the same way that they would go about buying a car or a house, or even the weekend’s groceries: They shop around for the best deal …
Aesthetic considerations rank high on some folks’ shopping lists. There are those who seek a certain flamboyance—colorful vestments, smells and bells, armies of acolytes. Others, by contrast, are into stark austerity. For them, the Geneva gown and unadorned Holy Table reign supreme.
That’s cool, as my kids used to say. Tastes differ. But it is worth remembering that it is God we are trying to please in our acts of worship. Thus, it is his taste that counts—not our own. Shopping for liturgical satisfaction is one thing. Shopping for convenience of belief, however, is quite another.
Even so, it is what large numbers of people seem to be doing. It might be reasonable enough if the “belief shoppers” were actually seeking enlightenment—a clearer understanding of the Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Faith.
A few probably are engaged in such a quest. But experience shows that most of them are doing nothing of the sort. Most, in fact, are hunting around for the best deal on sin. Clergy can usually recognize them by their first question: “Do you think adultery / sexism / lying to a federal grand jury / eating tofu / membership in PETA / cruelty to animals / gun ownership / etc., etc. is a sin?”
It is important to note that these people don’t actually want to know what the Scriptures have to say on the matter. They aren’t seeking enlightenment. They have made up their minds already. What they’re looking for is a parson who will agree with whatever they deem to be “sinful” or “non-sinful.”
Come up with the wrong answer, that’s the last you’ll see of them. They are off once again on the eternal quest for an obliging pastor who thinks the way they do.
This consumer–oriented approach to the faith offers rich fields of endeavor for clergymen with none too many scruples. Sadly, however, honest parsons have a much tougher time. The problem is that defining sin isn’t the clergy’s job at all. Nor, for that matter, is it the job of the Church. It is God who defines sin—and He did that many thousands of years ago. You’ll find His ideas on the subject in a handy little consumers’ guide called The Bible.
The truth is that it doesn’t matter a hang what I, or any other human being, thinks about sin. The only opinion we need to worry about is God’s. If God approves of something, there’s no need to ponder any further. But if he says that something is sinful, believe me, there is nothing that I, or anybody else can say—or do—to change the situation.
The Church hasn’t got the job of identifying sin. Its business is the forgiveness of sins—and that’s a horse of an entirely different color. Perhaps it’s time to stop trying to do God’s job and get on with our own assignments. GPH✠
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