And Jesus found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.Recently this year, God opened my eyes to this verse in connection to modern day times and every time I read these verses since then...my blood pressure rises and I get a little angry too.
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 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
Christianity, in sooo many places and ministries around the globe, has become a business, a way to make money. Compassion, love for people, and love for God comes in second place - too often - to the pursuit of business endeavors. And the biggest problem is that often, when this happens, those doing it don't even realize that God has moved down the rankings in their lives and ministries. All that is being pursued just becomes normal, without regard, and seems to "make sense" without ever once realizing God and His Design for the ministry is no longer foremost.
Too often I've seen (and I bet you have too) ministries that sell their sermons "for a love offering of $100 or more" and etc. Too often I've heard Pastors declaring that if a "love offering" is given, the giver will receive a blessing from God. Do I even need to explain how this is bribery?!
Jesus specifically said, "Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!" Why are we selling the Word of God for a huge price? Why are we selling the Way, the Truth and the Life for a large amount of money...as though only the rich can afford to know God?? But the truth is, it's not only the rich who will pay the price. There are always hundreds of people in tough, tough circumstances desperate for God to work miracles in their circumstances who will desperately want to know God and find His Truth, and they will pay with money that they don't have or can't afford to use. Why are we hurting these people further?! Don't you think God is absolutely appalled by the fact that His representatives are working on the emotions of others, who are desperate for Him, just to try fund their latest building project?!
I fully support Pastors and Ministers getting paid. I fully support that the materials being used and other church staff working on the materials get paid for. But does it really cost $100 to copy a sermon onto a DVD?! Does it really need to be sold for large profits?!
Moses set up the Law so that the Priests get good compensation for their commitment to God, and this was still in effect when Jesus entered those temple doors. This is not what Jesus was getting angry about. Jesus was getting angry about the excess, about the greediness, about those taking advantage of people who were anxious to please God!! God's representatives in God's temple...the very people who were trusted as God's own voice and heart were leading people astray with their agenda-bent ways. It was appalling enough to Jesus that He created a huge scene! It should infuriate us this much as well!! (When the disciples saw Jesus doing this, they recognized in Jesus a quote from Psalms 69:9, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up." John 2:17)
This isn't even to mention the "love offering" that Pastor's ask for in exchange for a blessing from God!!! Again, who do you think will give these offerings? I can guarantee that most of the responses will come from, not the rich, but the desperate for God, who can't afford it but will do anything and believe anything just to find God! And this is how we're telling them they will find God?!!! It's so disgusting!! God can not be bought!!
And the worst part of it is that God cares soo much for that person who is desperate for Him!! God absolutely adores that person and wants to intervene!! And yet, that Pastor has cheapened God to that person, and told them that when their blessing from God does come, it only came because they "bought" God through their ministry!!! God becomes completely and disgustingly misrepresented!!
Yes, I believe that if we give, we will receive. Yes, I believe that if we give to God, He gives back to us...pressed down, shaken together and running over! 100%. BUT, this isn't the way to summon God into our lives. God isn't in a vending machine so that when you put a coin in, He comes out and you get a reward. We can not take those verses and assume God will work for money. There are definitely times when you give, you will get your blessing returned immediately. Other times when you give, your return will come much later, like a farmer sowing seed and reaping a harvest much later. And there are definitely times when God tells you to give in faith directly to a cause, and you will receive directly back.
But that does not give any Pastor out there looking to build a building the right to bring up that verse and pull on the emotions of the audience who are hungry for God to get that building paid for (or to fit their budgeting issues, and etc).
Oxen, sheep and doves were needed to make sacrifices to God. So they could and did justify the selling of these things, saying it was in the name of God. Just like these guys were probably so-called "innocently" using the Laws of God with regards to sacrifices to their advantage, Ministries use that verse to work to the their advantage, as well.
Have you ever sat in a humanities/history class and learned about the Selling of Indulgences from the Middle Ages? This is exactly what is going on today as well, just in a modern form!! Have you ever seen pictures or been to St. Peter's Basilica in Rome with Michelangelo's beautiful paintings inside?! Do you know how this beautiful Basilica and amazing artwork was paid for? Through bribing people who were desperate for God. Telling them that if they gave money to the Church, they would receive that which they were hoping for from God. It's in history books, laid our plainly and recognized as exactly this. Go research it. Sound familiar?!!
And let's be honest, the outcome is beautiful; amazing! We travel across the globe just to stand there for a few minutes and gasp in awe at the amazing architecture and intricate art. But are the funding methods justified? NO!! And this is exactly what we're doing today! Pastors want to build their beautiful church buildings, they want it to be a "place for God," just like the Basilica. But are the funding methods justified? NO!!
It's not right, it goes against the very nature of God: to use the goodwill of people for our own desires (regardless of the fact that the money is going to be used "for God").
I've mentioned the more obvious ways we take advantage as God's Leaders and of God's people for money. But let's look a little deeper, at stuff that might not be so obvious, but that I think fits this verse nonetheless.
Church buildings, new ministries, mission trips, church plants. They all sound positive. And they all are. But they all require money. And how that money is gathered can and often does, turn a good-willed Pastor/Pastoral Staff into business-minded, God-on-the-shelf-until-this-is-completed people without their even realizing it!! Too often in churches today, we start to put our church building funds, the ministries we're trying to build up, the mission trips and the church plants we're trying to fund at the forefront of our minds. And we get big organizations to help us with our funding...and all of a sudden these plans to "understand people better and the ways they give," to schedule the best funding sermons and events and calendars, (and etc)...all begin to make so much sense and we start to (unconsciously) believe these endeavors are (periodically) more important than the purpose for the ministries themselves. And the budget becomes bigger than God and God's intended Design for the Church...just for a few months. This is not right either!!
I'm not anti funding plans and approaches. But I've also seen how these plans can so quickly become the most important thing on the Church calendar, and the most important pursuit of the Pastoral Staff...above any other Church endeavor. And I don't believe it's healthy.
Let me add this in as a final note: I'm assuming that a lot of what I've criticized is seen on T.V. by you, as it has by me. And our minds automatically turn to trash Christian Television at large. So let me quickly add in here that I very much support Christian Television at large. Thank God for it!! Thank God for Paul & Jan Crouch (even with all their quirks) for taking those first steps to allow the Gospel to be preached in billions of homes with just the flip of a switch!!! It's an incredible fortune that we tend to take for granted. So please don't just read my blog entry and focus on Christian T.V. because it's everywhere,
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