Riots and Revival
9.4.16
In every town that Paul traveled to and conducted ministry, there was either a riot or a revival. Often the one proceeded the other. In Ephesus he had served the people well and shared the Gospel to the point that it was effecting the business of local silversmiths and idol makes for the Temple of Artemis. One of the silversmiths, Demetrius, lead the crowds to riot against these Christian pioneers and riled them to take action against "the Way". We read this story in Acts 19:23-41.
Idols and Ideas
Demetrius was upset for two basic reasons: the Christian faith displaced his idols and upset his ideas. Read in verses 25-27:
“You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business. And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all. There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.”
1. The idol of time.
2. The idol of money.
3. The idea of expectations (things we invest in and expect something back in return).
The Idol of Time
Time is a limited resource. We have 24 hours in a day. According to the Bureau of Labor , the average American day looks something like this:
Work 7.6 hours
Home care 2.4 hours
Leisure Time 5.5 hours (2.8 T.V. and 1.3 computer/phone)
Care for kids 2 hours (1 hour if over age 6)
Sleep 8 hours
TOTAL 25.5 hours average
We have managed somehow to over commit our days by one and a half hours! Search in your app store of choice and you will find thousands of time management programs. The goal? To squeeze in as much as possible and more! Much of what we do can be seen as doing for others, but a true evaluation of ourselves and our schedules will reveal for most a humble focus on one's self. We work and play to fulfill our needs. We seek our satisfaction above others whenever possible. And where in this hectic schedule will there be time for God?
The Idol of Money
"The love of money is the root of all evil." 1 Timothy 6:10
Money is a neutral object. It has no inherent good or evil. What the money is used for tells of our hearts and intents. In 2014, according to the Giving USA Foundation, Americans donated $114 billion to churches. This seems generous, and is is to an extent. To put this in perspective, we should explore what this means per person and how it compares to the things we do for ourselves.
$114 billion in donations mean an average of $360 per person in America. Before you complain that not everyone is a church attender, let me point out that 83% of Americans identify as Christian (ABC News). Americans spend and average of $1,100 per year on coffee (ABC News - Coffee), so shouldn't these "Christians" be more generous?
Perhaps we are not more generous because we tend to spend our money on ourselves. Consider the following spending habits of Americans: (CNN Money)
Beer $83 billion
Lotto $69 billion
Infomercial Products $400 billion
Cigarettes $80 billion
($170 billion in health related costs and $156 billion in lost productivity)
That is a total of over $950 billion spent on self pleasure and "things" we perceive a need to have. This is over eight times the amount donated to churches! This is just a short list which does not include things like movie tickets, cable/internet at home, video games, and the list goes on and on.
Demetrius and the others in Ephesus were dedicated to Artemis and her temple. They had invested greatly into the temple and expected a return on their investment. The temple was 450 feet long, 225 feet wide and 60 feet tall. To put that in modern size scale, it was the length of one and a half football fields long, as wide as the width of one and a half football fields, and as tall as a six story building. Impressive to say the least! They had poured into the temple and was looking for it to give back in the form of worship, business, and pride.
Our expectations come in many forms. One expression of expectations which effects the church today is an over commitment to youth sports. School teams, league teams, travel teams, all-star teams, etc. consume our family and youth in way unseen to date. In a season where kids have specialty coaches and position coaches as young as early elementary age, the expectations of these "temples" we are investing in are high. But are they realistic? Consider the following data from the Georgia Career Information Center (Pro Athlete):
Men BBALL Wmn BBALL Football Baseball
% HS to college 2.9 3.1 5.8 5.6
% College to pro 1.3 1.0 2.0 10.5
% HS to pro 0.03 0.02 0.09 0.5
The effects of the pressure on family kids to compete? According to Travis Dorsch, professor at Utah State University, as much as 10% of a family's income is spent on sports (NY Times). Pair that with information gathered by ESPN, the average income of student athletes is between $35,000 and $100,000, or $67,000 median…which means families could easily spend up to $6,700 per year on sports or as much as $60,000 over a ten year sport career (age 8 to 18). Expectations involve the other two idols in a special way - they require us to sacrifice both time and money.
Expectations have a negative effect on the family and Christians in particular. Weekend tournaments and regular Sunday games means that 25 % of Americans qualify as “regular attenders” – meaning 3 out of every 8 weeks (churchleaders.com) There are many good and positive reasons to attend church. The bible gives us instructions that we should "not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25) As the Day of Christ's return draws nearer there is all the more importance on coming together for collective worship, edification, and community.
Please do not think I am proposing no sport! There are numerous benefits for organized sports in the lives of your athletes. Both male and female athletes learn teamwork, discipline, and other positive life-long effects by interacting with one another in practice and in games. But we are talking about a conscious decision by many families to place sports before faith. Practice of athletics before practice of personal belief. Any time there is an opportunity to cooperatively worship and you make a decision not to participate, then you are making a decision as to who is most important in your life at that moment: you or God.
Passion is the problem.
Many parents and kids and adults have passion for their work, the favorite leisure time, and personal agendas. This passion has to have purpose to be useful.
Passion without purpose is chaos.
Passion with purpose is change.
Demetrius had passion, but his leadership resulted in chaos: "The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there." (Acts 19:32); but the passion of Paul and his leadership changed hearts and lives across a whole region: " And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia." (verse 26) Paul had lead practically the whole nation to Christ! That is a change worth pursuing!
Putting aside the idols of time, money, and expectations, we can pursue with passion the purpose God has for us so that we can live a life which causes a reaction! So what will be it be? Will people riot or rejoice over our life?
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