"If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed."

That's a sobering statement, especially when you realize that Adolf Hitler is the one who said it. The devastation caused by the Nazi regime during the second World War is a painful exclamation mark to such a statement, and provides a disturbing commentary on the destructive power that lies can have upon an entire society.

There is a lie that has subtly captivated the hearts of those in the West, and it has quickly become one of our most dominant cultural stories -- a prominent worldview lens through which we see everything.

What is this lie that is influencing and affecting virtually every area of our lives?

It is the lie of consumerism . And we've fallen for it -- hook, line, and sinker.

Consumerism says that purpose is found through increasing consumption of goods and services. Consumerism purports that the value of any given item isn't in the item itself, but in that item’s usefulness to you. Consumerism declares all things to be a commodity.

And therein lies the danger.

Since this culture of consumption places no constraints upon what can or cannot be consumed, everything is fair game... including Jesus. As Trevin Wax so succinctly states, "the way consumerism recasts Christianity is by turning the gospel into a commodity, something we believe because it is useful, not because it is true." Consumerism establishes our identity and role as that of consumers, standing in direct opposition to the identity that is ours in Christ -- that of ambassadors, witnesses, and stewards. 

This undoubtedly distorts our understanding of God's mandate, and deeply affects our engagement in God's mission.

Consumerism could possibly be the strongest religious movement in the Western world today, and as followers of Christ, we need to beware of its allurements and subtle ideology. If we’re not watchful, we’ll find a consumeristic spirit creeping into our view of God’s work in this world. 

What would the Great Commission look like under the distortion of consumerism? 

Consumerism would state that the Great Commission is something for our consumption.

Consumerism would suggest that the value of God’s mission isn’t in the mission itself, but in the mission’s ability to produce emotions and experiences that are useful to us. Consumerism would unabashedly declare this God-given mandate to be a commodity.

This is the role our consumer culture would have us assign to the Great Commission, and yet as those who have a Christ-given responsibility and authority in seeing the Kingdom of God advance through mission, such distortions should disgust us. The Great Commission isn’t about us, and it’s not for us to commodify and peddle among Christians who want a feel-good experience. Souls are at stake, and we’ve been declared stewards in this mission of God. 

Let us recognize and embrace the challenge of our day. Let us faithfully fight against the distortion of God’s mission for the glory of His name!