The problem with American Christianity is that it costs very
little to be in the club. But, there is a problem. The price of American
Christianity is going up to the dismay of many American Christians. This type
of inflation is very upsetting. We do not want to pay more for our beliefs. We
love our Big Box Store Christianity where we can get any blessing we like for
low, low prices. But, spiritual inflation is still rising. Being a Christian is
no longer a plus to one’s reputation. What used to give admiration, now costs
us in derision. True Christians are seen as closed minded for holding fast to
the Bible literally and completely. Some “Christians” will attempt to save a
little and try to distance themselves from these “believers”. They will say, “I
am not like them, I am an open minded Christian.”
But there is a problem. The price to be a Christian is
continuing to rise and will continue to. There is now even a price just to be a
mediocre Christian. We continue to rally against these higher costs. We protest
about the injustices against us. We post on Facebook about the rights that are
being taken from us. We are doing everything to fight these higher costs of
being a Christian, except pay them.
Jesus said “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his
life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ” That doesn’t sound too
good. It sounds kinda dramatic, kinda expensive, doesn’t it? It’s not a
metaphor. Jesus wants us to literally give our desires, loves, cares, time and
yes if need be, our very literal and actual lives. But that is very expensive
and we are doing everything we can do to avoid paying.
The real problem is that in our American Christianity, the
actual cost of following Jesus sounds so very high. In reality, it is just
normal. Paul the Apostle said “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the
mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable to God, which is your
reasonable service. 2 And do not be
conformed to this world, but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that
good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Paul is saying, I beg you, by the
mercy of God, be a living sacrifice. That is your reasonable service. Instead
of being transformed, we are trying to transform the world so we don’t have to
pay a high cost for our Christianity. But, sacrificing our own wills and lives is
merely our “reasonable service”. Jesus
said: “So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are
commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty
to do.’”
The truth is this. The price of true Christianity seems like
too high a price to pay from our American perspective. I’m an American. I love
being an American and I love Americans, but we are soft. We fight for our right
to be Christians with more ferocity than we fight to be Christians. The price
we pay to be Christians is not cheap, but it is nowhere near the cost. Jesus
paid the true cost for us on the cross. We do not pay the real cost, only shipping
and handling.
