Means Become the Ends

Matthew 21:13 - He said to them, "It is written, 'my house shall be a house of prayer,' but you have made it into a den of thieves."

Christ is angry because the money-changers and the pigeon-sellers were, in fact, cheating the people. At first glance, this situation may not seem to apply to churches here in the United States. Yet, there are many churches in which the pastor is wealthy and the congregation is poor. This is a similar instance of making the church a den of thieves.

There are many ways to "create a den of thieves" that have very little to do with money - not sharing what was learned in seminary; having cliques as leaders rather than spreading the work out; preaching only on preferred texts rather than the entire Bible; preaching death-dealing sermons rather than the life-giving good news; not listening to the congregations concerns, hardships, or desires; letting predators get away with sexual harassment or other forms of bullying. So many ways to cheat the children of God.

In tolerating or perpetuating these things, the church is both in the world and of the world. In America's push to monetize every aspect of our lives and to view everything as a business - whether that makes sense or not, we are confusing price for value. We are forgetting that people and all of God's good creation have value apart from their productivity and cannot be monetized. We are forgetting that nature has value even when no human being is making use of it. People, too.

Being in the moment without being busy has value. Spending time with family and friends has value. Worshiping God has value, silence has value, resting has value. Your favorite hobby has value. None of these should necessarily be monetized, because contrary to popular belief, money is not meant to be a way to keep "score." Money, possessions, and businesses are all means (tools) to an end; money to purchase necessities (vacuum cleaners), possessions to enrich our lives (art on our walls), and businesses to supply such necessities and possessions.

American capitalism has corrupted the purpose of business, changing the "end" from supplying goods and services to increasing "shareholder value." They have confused the means for the end. Jesus is claiming that the Jewish authorities who set up this system, the money-changers, and the pigeon-sellers are guilty of the same thing in the temple. Of course, no group of people is perfect, but we can at least remember that Jesus's focus was always, always, always on the flourishing of people; not the accumulation of wealth, possessions, or "shareholder value." To the extent that these matter to us, we are of the world rather than of heaven.

How are we participating in the misguided notion that people must always be productive or they are worthless? What about disabled people? What about creation that is not productive according to our standards? When was the last time I took a walk or "wasted" time just because? Is there an area of my life in which I am confusing the means with the ends?