Christianity Commercialized

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all cite instances where Jesus cleansed the temple of money changers who were profiting off Jewish law.

“Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.” (Matt 21:12-13)

“He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves...” and declared, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations. But you have made it a den of robbers.’” (Mark 11:15-17)

“Jesus entered the temple and began driving out those who were selling there, saying, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers.’” (Luke 19:45-46)

“Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, ‘Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!’” (John 2:13-16)

Let’s be clear, Servant Leader, Jesus wasn’t angry because merchants were selling perfectly acceptable sacrifices to those incapable of bringing their own. No. He was angry because the money changers were making a profit, the merchants were charging unjustifiable fees, and the Jews were choosing to buy their sacrifices locally rather than cultivate and bring them from their own effort.

That’s commercialization of Christianity and it angered Christ.

There have been scandals in the Church since the Crucifixion.

Acts Chapter 5 tells the story of Ananias and Saphira, a married couple who conspired to maintain their own wealth despite committing it to the Church.

Between the 11^th and 13^th Centuries, Christians waged the Crusades (1096 – 1291 A.D.) in a claim to recapture the Holy Lands from the hands of Muslims (Ishmael’s descendants). Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum of support for/against the Crusades, violence, collateral damage, and persecution underpinned the commercialization of the Crusades.

More recently, we can name half a dozen megachurch pastors whose net worth is in the tens of millions – with the pastor on the top of that list holding an estimated net worth exceeding $700M.

To place that into perspective, there are only about 20 entertainers, athletes, and media personalities whose net worth exceeds $700M.

By now you’re probably asking what all of this has to do with GovCon.

Well, I’m glad you asked.

You see, Servant Leader, every day we see claims by Defense Contractors that they are Christian businesses, built on Christian principles, and run by Christian leaders. Social media is full of posts by organizations seeking relevance with the Christian community by hosting, sponsoring, or highlighting some Christian or religious event.

But is that bad?

Even Jesus taught that those who are...

“not against us [are] for us” (Mark 9:40).

But He also taught...

“Whoever is not with me is against me.” (Matt 12:30; Luke 11:23)

So, how do we take the commercialization of Christianity?

We take it with wisdom and trust that any company or individual who claims to be Christian will show the Fruits of the Spirit away from the spotlight as equally as when the spotlight is on them.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:22-25)

So, let’s use the wisdom God has given us to discern whether a person or a company is claiming Christianity as a marketing strategy, or a true conviction to the One who sacrificed Himself for our sins even before we were born.

And finally, if their fruits don’t prove them as followers of Christ, be content that Jesus saw their sin, yet chose to die for them anyway.

As for your…

“And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.” (Matt 10:14)

Yes, Copilot drafted this graphic for me.