Spirit Guided v. Market Driven

A sign at a church reads, "The church is Spirit guided, not market driven." How profound ! In our culture, the "market" seems to drive everything, including the church.

To be clear, this author believes that ALL of life is to be Spirit guided. The Apostle Paul instructed the Ephesian church (meaning the people who comprised the community of believers in Ephesus) to be continuously controlled by the Spirit of God (Ephesians 5:18). Our lives are to be governed by the high principles of God's law, and the divine leading of His Holy Spirit. We are not to be driven by "market forces" alone, but to measure those forces by the canon of God's Divine Revelation.

A new dichotomy, however, has become the cultural norm. It would seem that such Spirit guidance has no worth in the marketplace. Many seek a clear separation between what is "spiritual" and what is "secular." This expectation presents Christian believers with a genuine conflict. How can one be continuously guided by God's Holy Spirit, yet unable to exercise such guidance within the marketplace?

This author submits that such a dichotomy does not and should not exist. One cannot separate his spiritual moorings from his daily thoughts. Choices will always be made in relation to what one holds dear. Opinions are the result of ones convictions and values.

Unfortunately, modern culture seeks to prohibit that which is popularly deemed as "intellectually untenable." Such an argument excludes any possibility of honest debate. It permits the creation of a "truth" while stating that there are no absolutes. It denounces those who hold Christian value-based views as bigots, closed-minded and unintellectual. Candidly, such harassment itself should expose the fallacious nature of the secular debate.

What was once based on character, integrity and truth is now awash with realitivistic dogma. Such demagoguery ill serves the debate. If the secular argument is indeed superior, let it stand the test of a sincere debate. Drop the bias toward a godless society. End the put down of those who would hold to Christian values. Put the secular progressive agenda to the test by revealing its presuppositions.

In a truly free society, such differences are debated without malice. One who holds to a Christian world view should be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks of the reason of his or her hope (1 Peter 3:15). Such debate refuses to disparage a person with whom one disagrees. Rather, it demands a firm grasp of that which one seeks to put forward, and a trust in the Author of Truth to embed His Truth in the heart of the listener. Those with whom we debate will be convinced by God's Spirit, not by our vitriol or oratorical eloquence. Perhaps it's time to return to the direction of God's Spirit and refuse to be drawn into the muck and mire of the "politics of mutual destruction."

Let's make a difference in the marketplace!