Have you ever watched an episode of "Tanked'? Well don't. The show is basically about a couple of guys who build incredible aquariums for incredibly rich people. They are talented but the show is nothing special. Just another reality show flash in the pan. I caught an episode tonight as I was flipping through the channels (successfully avoiding sleep). This particular episode, however, has had a lasting effect on me. I would describe it as nothing short of an aggressive kick in the crouch (from a really telented soccer player). I was struck utterly speechless as I watched them show off their biggest (and most expensive) aquarium build. It was for.... a....church?! Yes, a church. I still can't believe it. The tank is so big that it requires 3 full time staff just to take care of it. The aquarium is a 75,000 gallon salt-water tank. The building that it is housed in cost around 40 million dollars. FORTY... MILLION... And they are paying 3 full time marine biologists just to care for this aquarium. The fish alone cost more than I make in a year. If you don't believe me read it for yourself [here]..
Of course, the aquarium was supposedly built to honor God. (Didn't Christians have this problem back in the middle ages?) But here is the question: Is God really honored by such a grotesque use of money? Not the God I serve. Tony Campolo said it best when he lamented that we (in America) spend millions of dollars every year building buildings to honor a God who said that He dwells not in temples made by hand. When will the body of Christ wake up from our materialistic debauchery? Materialism is wreaking havoc on our body. It's almost everywhere I look. Rather than cooperate and share resources to build a community basketball center, every church in town has to have its very own gym. We build enormous buildings that often outsize every theator in town to house people for only a couple days a week. And on and on it goes.
Historians tell us that Christians first became popular because they were quite radical in how they took care of the poor and shared resources. Welfare laws and charity organizations throughout the world have their roots in these radical believers taking Christ at His word. What happened? Now we are known for our... aqauriums? For our buildings? Is this how Christ wants us to reach people? You know, I have always had a problem with churches that have their own esculators and food courts... but a 75,000 aquarium? Seriously, what's next?
The body of Christ in America has a crippling virus...and its called materialism. Its time to start seeking God for a cure. Here's a thought... Isaiah 58.
