“Service” or “Serve-Us” – Moving beyond Consumerism

Pastor Marc Peña

Trinity Life Church of San Diego

May 27, 2009

When I was a young kid I watched a new “up and coming” franchise threaten the established and unrivaled king of burgers: McDonalds. This new burger company had a catchy motto, maybe you’ve heard of it…

“Have it your way”

Yep, that’s Burger King.

The motto aimed to pit a custom made flame-broiled burger against the hugely popular Big Mac, but it did much more than this. Almost prophetically, the 1970’s motto captured the heart of an emerging cultural value that would come to dominate the American mindset. “Have it your way” became much more than a catchy burger motto. It became the creed and philosophy of life for most Americans.

But times are changing…

After decades of rampant consumerism many people are coming to their senses. The idea that consumerism is life’s greatest purpose is being exposed as a bankrupt philosophy. Slowly we are returning to one of life’s most sacred truths: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). From politics to planting trees, people of all ages are beginning to seek out new and creative ways to give and serve their communities. As a nation we are coming to terms with the fact that significance is not really measured by how much we acquire but by how much and how well we serve others. Yes, times are changing!

But not for everyone…

Sadly, there are still many institutions (and people!) that are entrenched in consumerism. They still see life’s primary purpose as accumulating more and more assets. Jesus tells an interesting story in Luke 12 about a rich landowner who had acquired so much that he had no more room to store it. The landowner decides to tear down his old barns and build bigger ones. This way he will have more room for, you guessed it, more stuff. What the rich man did not count on was that his life would soon come to an end. All of his work to acquire more stuff and build bigger barns came to an abrupt end. He left it all behind… along with an empty legacy of self-indulgence. Jesus ends the story with a stark warning, “…the man who stores up treasure for himself is not rich towards God” (verse 21).

As God’s people let us not live solely for the acquisition of assets. As the Church we not called to accumulate assets or build bigger barns. We are called to follow Jesus’ example who came “not to be served but to serve.” (Mark 10:45).