Articles
When Christianity Disrupts a Materialist Culture
When Christianity Disrupts a Materialist Culture
Tyler King
As Paul journeyed throughout the ancient world and proclaimed the news of Jesus, he ran into several varying circumstances. Within these encounters of different people, he was often greeted with hostility and bitterness. This was especially true when he tried reaching out to non-believers in Ephesus.
In Acts 19, things seem to start in a good direction. Paul shows up, asks a few questions about the people’s faith, and instructs them in a more advanced way than what they had previously experienced (Acts 19:1-8). We first see the opposition arise when Luke tells us of those who were “hardened,” “disobedient,” and “speaking evil of the Way” (19:9). Incredibly, that didn’t seem to slow Paul down. In fact, the text says Paul began performing extraordinary miracles at this point. God’s Word undoubtedly kept spreading throughout all the land even though there were some who remained hardened.
Paul then encountered a man named Demetrius, a silversmith who created shrines for the goddess Artemis. Demetrius gathered a bunch of men of the same trade and explained to them that Paul was taking away their business because he was converting people from polytheism into a faith of Jesus — making shrines and idols completely worthless (Acts 19:26-28). Paul placed such a precedence on Jesus and knowing Him, that it removed the need for a materialistic religion.
We do not live with a polytheist mind, and neither does our culture. Though there remain some similarities in principle. When “prosperity” (Acts 19:25) becomes a veil to the worth of Jesus, we can have assurance that we have missed it; we’ve missed the purpose and hope of life. Paul’s words and actions were captivating enough to lead people away from such traps. However, in doing so, he also caused quite the disturbance. Sometimes the world will cause a ruckus when they see people follow Jesus. When we follow Christ, we fully acknowledge that we do not need those other things in life that so many others pursue. We belittle the passions and desires of this life, because we hold fast the worth of Christ and His resurrection. If people are disrupted by your faith, that is okay — it’s happened before and it’ll happen again. Paul took that experience and kept on in his journey, proceeding to Greece and Macedonia. We have a mission, a family, and a loving Father to keep us going along the way.
