Relationship: Object or Partnership?
One of the most detrimental systems of thought that permeates our world and the Church is the philosophy of utilitarianism. In short, utilitarian thinking believes that whatever will lead to my happiness is my best utility. This view can be a good thing when looking at all people equally and pursuing the highest possible outcome for the whole community.
However, this is not often the case in our dog-eat-dog world. More often than not, we do not look for the good for all, but instead, we seek the most accessible way of taking advantage of others for personal gain. There are too many examples of this that rear their ugly faces from the food we eat to the clothes we wear and the structures that continue to divide and segregate because of race, class, and gender.
As much as I'd like to present more writing and application points for healing the brokenness of racism, sexism, and elitism in our society, I believe it is all rooted in one complex space: our view of and relationship with God.
Recently, I was reading through Judges 17, and one account struck me with rich points on viewing God and others as our 'utility.' The story follows the history of a man named Micah who is alive during a time in which Israel had no king and did as they saw fit. In this narrative, Micah and his mother practice a common theme in the Old Testament: idol worship. Micah takes 1,100 shekels of silver and delivers it to his mother who then proclaims that they would consecrate it to the Lord. In doing so, they give 200 shekels of silver to a silversmith to make into an idol to put in Micah's house.
Let's pause here real quick. Micah's mother says she wants to consecrate all the silver to the Lord and then ends up taking a small portion of the silver to build as an idol. I don't know about you, but this sounds like what happens with my money all the time. We work hard for cash, or sometimes currency finds its way to us, and rather than consecrating it to the Lord, we form an idol of it. We call it 'our' money and use it as 'our' utility. At least for me as an American, my name is not on U.S. dollar bills. In fact, the last time I checked, every form of our currency has "In God We Trust" proclaimed in writing.
What am I saying here? Jesus said it best, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Mt. 6:19-21)." Money is a utility for the greater good, but it should not be an idol. Cash becomes an idol when it is a utility for only us. It becomes a distraction when we start seeking wealth before relationship or join in relationship with God and others for the factor of the financial blessing we may receive.
When we consecrate not only our profits to the Lord but our whole lives to the Lord, we are declaring that He is Provider and that it is by His grace that we have those resources. In short, when we consecrate our finances to the Lord, we proclaim them not to be something that we take advantage of others with, but something that God has given to us to be blessed to be a blessing.
As the story continues, Micah encounters a Levite (priest) who is on his way to find another place to live outside of Bethlehem in Judah. Micah, who had set up his idol in his home, was looking for a priest to minister before the silver-cast image, and this Levite was just the person he was seeking. Micah offered the priest a stipend of 10 shekels of silver a year with the bonus of covering his clothing and food.
It seems like a pretty sweet deal to the Levite to hang out in a house with some silver icon and get food, clothes, and a salary, right? However, I find it ridiculous that this Levite had just left the actual place he was called to minister in Judah and gave it up for some random idol and house elsewhere. On top of this, Micah offers him utilities for the sake of his convenience and comfort.
Oh, how often do we make decisions based on convenience and comfortability? We limit God's grandiose plans for our lives by taking the much smaller vision all because there are a retirement plan and white-picket fence for our home. We compromise by choosing the provision of luxury before us as our utility when the Lord had been cultivating something much bigger and better for us and those around us all along.
How many of us are like the Levite who forfeits true priesthood, calling and commitment to the Lord for the amenities of a title, a paycheck, and a home filled with idols? Beloved, our God will never call us to something He won't provide for, but that doesn't mean that His call will be the easy way out. It means that as we walk in the uniqueness of our relationship with Jesus that we must continuously find our source, our provision, and our shelter in His loving presence and leadership. After all, I don't know anything more precious than walking in a messy relationship and beautiful partnership with God. And let's get real here: when we are living in the calling He has placed on our lives, we have everything we need, and we can give more to others than we could with our convenience-oriented jobs.
Finally, the narrative ends with Micah declaring, "Now I know that the Lord will be good to me since this Levite has become my priest." Another way we can phrase this is, "Now I know that the Lord will be useful to me..." Do you see it yet? Micah has shifted from an actual relationship with the Lord to a utilitarian view of God. He has left behind the offer for growth in relational connection with God for the fast-forward version of what he thinks is a relationship.
Micah believes that because he has checked off having somebody who is a priest in his house that the Lord will be a utility to him. He reveals a common theme in our contemporary culture and Church today. It is the ultimate checklist theology. It is the slap in the face of the Savior of the world calling upon Him as Santa Claus. We don't want a relationship with God unless we need Him for something, and we limit this 'relationship' to specific seasons and activities that we have deemed as morally good or bad.
However, we know that our God is not the idol of Micah's house and the idol of our utilitarian views. We know that Jesus did not come and speak, "If you check off all of these things then I will be your genie." We know that the Holy Spirit did not come to lead us into convenience, but to lead us into all truth (Jn. 16:13), offering us opportunities for correction (2 Tim. 3:16) and teaching us with guidance (Jn. 14:26).
We know that God is not our utility, yet we still see Him as one, and we only worship for our benefit. We merely say "Yes" to Him when it's for our 10 shekels, clothes, and food. We set our hearts on treasures below and form idols that are easy to worship and bring us the temporary fixes of convenience and personal blessing.
However, the True God does not bless us for individual comfortability. No. Our Lord blesses us to be a blessing. This call has always been the point of the corporate blessing of God's people. The Old Testament was not about creating a holy huddle, but it was instead about setting apart a group of people that the Messiah would come through to bring all people to God. The Church is not about a segregated community that leads to individual prosperity, but it has been and should be about a diverse yet unified family who shares their resources for all to know they are loved not for what they do, but for who they are.
I write all of this to say that we have not been created for utilitarian relationship. We are not fashioned to view God or others as our utility. Instead, we are formed for a mutually loving relationship. We are designed for relationship that goes beyond what advantage we get from the other person, what we have viewed as treasure, and what we think we will get from checking things off a list. We are made for being blessed so that we may bless those around us.
Beloved, I believe we would see the injustices of racism, sexism, and social-class elitism crumple if we began to see one another as uniquely loved and created. I propose that if we moved beyond the lens of utilitarian thought and started to view others as people rather than objects and utilities, we would experience the highest possible outcome in our world: love. I affirm that if we committed ourselves to the Lord in an authentic and growing relationship, we would stop viewing Him as our utility and we would cease pursuing connection with Him only when we felt like it or needed a blessing.
I genuinely believe that we have been created for loving relationship that goes beyond the objectification of God, others, and ourselves. It is to that relationship and the hope of bringing healing to our brokenness that I write these words. My prayer is that we would shift our perspective, commit to the Lord and each other beyond our emotionalism (whether we feel like it or not), and open space for the Lord to lead us into the way everlasting in covenant relationship and partnership.
God is good, and He does not withhold goodness from those whose walk is blameless (Ps. 85:11). He doesn't hold back from us because He is Goodness itself and it is His work that makes us innocent. It's all grace, friends, and this grace goes beyond objectification and utilitarian thought. We have been formed from grace, for love and are called to live in both freely. Here's to us receiving, looking through, and living in those creational intentions. Amen.
“I continue to dream and pray about a revival of holiness in our day that moves forth in mission and creates authentic community in which each person can be unleashed through the empowerment of the Spirit to fulfill God's creational intentions.” - John Wesley
