I do not like heat. Any time the temperature gets above a certain level (in the neighborhood of 75 - plus or minus depending on humidity) I would rather have air conditioning. I value the cooler air more than the money it takes to run it. That’s the free market.
The air conditioner itself is another expression of that. That’s expensive (sort of ) machinery, and I’d rather have the equipment than the money it takes to buy it. Some guy in the last century came up with the idea, got investors together, and started building AC units that are now in nearly every home across America. That’s capitalism.
The problem comes in when someone gets the bright idea to set up the system so that it’s impossible for someone else to build air conditioners, or that buying an air conditioner is mandatory. That’s cronyism.
There’s a cost to everything, regardless of how obvious (or not) it is. If you go out for supper and decide on Elegant Restaurant, there’s the obvious cost of money to buy the meal. It’s less obvious that you have to buy transportation to Elegant, even less obvious that you have to spend the time (to, from, and while dining). There’s also another cost: NOT going to Fantastic Restaurant. That one’s very subtle.
In today’s culture there’s a cost for going to church. At the moment it’s not very high. Church membership is dropping off, and I see that as a good thing.
Why? Because the folks who derive a cultural benefit for going are getting to be fewer and fewer.
Back in the 1950s and 60s, NOT going to church had a higher cost than weekly attendance. That’s flipping. If someone is an overt Christian there’s a price to be paid, and a lot of folks aren’t willing to pay that price. Part of it might be missing a baseball or football game, another might be getting passed over for promotions, and for an industrial corporation it might be losing a contract.
God has said he doesn’t want sacrifice but obedience. He’d rather have both, but sacrifice without obedience is useless. In other words, dropping your tithes into the offering on Sunday means nothing to Him if you’re not living out your Christian ethics the rest of the week. In that particular case you might not even be qualified to call yourself a Christian.
As the costs of being a Christian rise and cultural benefits drop, there’s a certain winnowing that happens. The “cultural Christians” drop away and the proportion of “devout Christians” increases. The latter would rather have Christ than the approval of mankind.
It’s hot out there. Would you rather have the air conditioning of Christ, or a higher balance in your checking account?
If Christ, then ask yourself if you’d ever want church membership mandatory. If a person’s “faith” is coerced, what kind of faith is it?
Nobody should want an organization called Cronies for Christ.
