Crucifying Consumerism | Missional Faith
Everyone has their preferences for what they want and how they would like to be catered to. To be clear, this isn’t necessarily wrong either. Preferences inherently do not make a person wrong, unless, of course, the preferences are sinful in and of themselves. Take, for instance, though, the preference of a favorite color. We can have a fondness for blue or red as a favorite color and holding to this preference would not be a source of sin in the life of the Christian. As with most things, though, the issue comes with the mis-ordering of a life centered around anything other than Jesus Christ. My favorite color is blue, but if it meant that others would be better able to receive the Gospel if I wore green, I would gladly do so for the sake of the Gospel and the glory of God.
For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23, ESV)
Preference, while not necessarily bad, is secondary to the glory of God and the sharing of the Gospel. For each Christian, the call is to live our life on mission, proclaiming the Gospel in whatever circumstance that we find ourselves in. In some cases, this means that we will need to sacrifice our own preferences for the sake of others and in other cases, it will mean we allow others to be more important than ourselves. All of this stems from the example that Jesus Christ gave so that, in our becoming like Him, others would come to be like Him as well. Crucifying the self leads to us leading a missional life that seeks to proclaim the Gospel regardless of our preference to those who are lost. Living a missional faith means we follow the example of Jesus Christ, emptying ourselves of ourselves for the surpassing and wonderful glory that is Jesus Christ.
Jesus’ Incarnational Example
The issue of sin separated mankind from God. Yet, God, rich is grace and mercy provided a way for mankind to return to Him. Through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross, the penalty of our sin was placed on Christ and we were redeemed for His purposes. Yet, we cannot forget that this expressed act was an act of grace. Punishing sin us for our own sin could have been a right and justifiable action for God to have taken. Instead, Jesus Christ humbled Himself and took on flesh. “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:5-8, ESV) For Christ to have emptied Himself in order to be with us shows a regard for humanity. Jesus made less of His rightful equality with God so that mankind could return to proper and true communion with Him for all eternity.
When we consider the works of Jesus Christ, to a degree, we should become somewhat uncomfortable. The death that Jesus chose was a painful and torturous death. The crucifixion that Jesus endure, though, he endured willingly for the sake of those whom He came to save. The Christian should be eternally grateful for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to empty Himself of His divinity and take the consequences of our sin upon Himself for His glory. The foundational truth of the Gospel came from the humility that Christ showed to be with His people. Jesus withheld the full weight of His humanity for the sake of paving a path home for those of us who have wandered away. It is by Christ alone that we approach the throne of grace (and with confidence) because our Lord and Savior came to be with us and loved us first, rather than requiring us to achieve perfection. The love of God drove Him to take on flesh and descend to the level of humanity so that, in Christ, we might ascend with Him for all eternity.
The Flexibility of Preference
For Paul, the idea of his identity would shift for the sake of the Gospel. This was not a type of inauthenticity or multiple persons. Instead, it was a willingness to know the people in Paul’s immediate context so that Paul would be better equipped to present the Gospel to them. Paul maintained a certain relatability to the people he was called to serve, seeking to ensure that there were no hinderances to the presentation of the Gospel. For the Jewish people, there were certain ways of talking with them to engage their culture and engage their sensibilities. Yet, this type of communication style would not be effective with the Greeks. Paul, for the sake of the Gospel understood that becoming like the people whom He had been called to reach would put Him in a better position to proclaim the Gospel in a way that they would hear. Like Christ, Paul emptied himself of his titles and pedigree in order to better approach the world for the surpassing glory of Jesus Christ.
The message of the Gospel should be the most important part of our identity. It is Christ who defines our identity as the God who spoke creation into being. In Him, we are new creations. Just as Christ had been willing to empty Himself of His divinity, we too can set aside our preferences for the sake that the Gospel could be known in our community. Of course, we stand on the foundation of the truth and morality that God lays before us, but we should be willing to lay down our preferences for the sake of others. We may like a specific style of music, types of programs, or have specific felt needs, but the ultimate purpose of being comes from loving the Lord fully with our heart, mind, soul, and strength and, as an extension of that love, loving our neighbors. To live a missional life means we allow the Holy Spirit to permeate every aspect of our life to crucify the old self, along with its preferences, so that God may be glorified in all the world. In comparison to the vast, eternal glory of God, our preferences cease to matter for an opportunity to be a child of God and to be in His presence.
About The Author
Daniel Burton is the founder of The Gospel Outpost. He is passionate about discipleship and seeing people grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. To find out more about him, check out his Author Page.
