Something for Nothing

The pursuit of something for nothing has permeated our culture to the degree that even church ministries are adopting its themes and practices. Gaming interests have long understood the connection between bait and switch techniques to lure participants down the path toward greater and greater involvement in behaviors detrimental to their economic condition. The appeal of the sweepstakes was widely accepted in relationship to promoting magazine sales, but the lid came off when states adopted lotteries that lure millions of dollars into coffers, not necessarily for state use, but often for advertisers, promoters, and fees associated with “staying on top” of the marketing schemes necessary to keep money flowing.
Like English ivy growing into a brick wall, the tentacles of seeking something for nothing grow long and tenaciously. Allowing door prizes for bingo parlors charging for cards and expenses, in the name of “non-profit” interests, is ludicrously veiled gambling for the most gullible among us.
So in the same vein, churches are sought that will promote the latest pyramid scheme to raise funds for their building program or mission trip. Lotteries and “chances” on cars, boats, and get-a-way weekends are the frequently devised methods for separating people from their money for the sake of “Christian enterprises?” Where are we when the capacity of the people of God to be faithful in their stewardship has so fallen so as to allow the church to become the casino of chances, the proliferator of prizes, the auctioneers and street corner hucksters and merchandisers of everything from magazines to makeup, in the name of ministry?
It is a sad day when our church young people know more about candy sales than Jesus. It is a tragic hour when there is a more enthusiastic response to the “silent auction” than to the Sunday offering. It is a telling sign that less and less are we finding the next generation thinking the church is any different from the world they live in, when so often it simply isn’t.