IDEA: The work ethic made people prosperous and the prosperity fed a covetous spirit.
TEXT: "You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s" (Exodus 20:17).
"You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife; and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s" (Deuteronomy 5:21).
PURPOSE: To help Christian listeners think about their values.
When we hear about the Reformation, what are people talking about?
They’re talking about the movement that separated Protestants from the prevailing church at the time, but about a movement that also impacted social structures.
I. Secular historians have been baffled by how Protestant Reformers changed the whole character of the Western world when that was not their aim.
How did they do it?
They preached the Scriptures and especially the gospel that people have a relationship with God, not on the basis of their conduct but on the basis of God’s kindness and grace.
They also believed, therefore, that all of life is to be lived under God.
It broke down the barrier between the sacred and the secular.
It was just as holy to build a house as to build a cathedral.
God was pleased with honest work.
The emphasis was not on making a profit, but on pleasing God. They believed that their daily work mattered to God.
II. The "Puritan ethic" turned into the Protestant work ethic.
The work ethic made people prosperous and the prosperity fed a covetous spirit.
Today we have abandoned the theology of the Reformers and the ethic of the Reformers. We have embraced a message that focuses on the results of the Reformers without the theology of the Reformers.
III. Even though Christians pour more energy into moral crusades than almost any other pursuit, Christians themselves don’t appear to live or think any differently.
Barna notes, "Survey data supply ample evidence of the bankruptcy of the commonly held worldviews of Christians."
As a body, American Christians have fallen prey to materialism, hedonism, secular humanism, and even to a jaded form of Christianity that rejects much of the commitment required of faithful servants.
A recent national survey discovered that no fewer than seven out of 10 Christians are prone to hedonistic attitudes about life.
Furthermore, about two in five evangelicals "deny the possibility that pain or suffering could be a means of becoming a better, more mature individual."
Finally, three out of 10 Christians agreed that "nothing in life is more important than having fun and being happy."
More than half of the Christian public believes that they "never have enough money to buy what they need."