“. . . knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ.” 1 Peter 1:18-19
Our cultural inheritance is a hankering after things, a gnawing on things, Pascal’s “licking the earth” — technically called materialism. We were suckled by it, schooled in it, rewarded for it. It has been beaten into us every day of our lives. By now, it forms the architecture of our inner beings. We know it’s futile. We know it de-personalizes us. But we have been shaped by it too deeply to be easily freed.
One of the benefits of financial suffering can be that we might go back. We might rediscover the things of the Spirit. We might, in deprivation, be surprised at the all-sufficient fullness of Christ. If this breakthrough happens to enough people, it could mean a new culture — or at least a refreshing new current within the larger flow.
It’s called revival. It re-personalizes us. If we need to suffer to get there, Christ is worth it.
