Luxury items fascinate me. My uber practical, paycheck to paycheck, associate pastor lifestyle can't quite comprehend the gold plated toilet seat, diamond studded watch, cashmere underwear, or $75,000 SUV with the home entertainment system. As much as I hate to admit it, those who own luxury items produce in me a constellation of emotions from envy to resentment. In my self-righteous moments, my criticism and judgment take on the words of Jesus, "It's easier for a camel to walk through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." In those moments I hear myself cheering on Jesus and jeering at the wealthy, "That's what I'm talking about Jesus...Y'all better watch out Jesus (Spanish pronunciation) is about to get Old Testament on your punk @$#."
My trip down Condemnation Lane doesn't last more than a few blocks before Reverend Hammond's words echo in my ears, "Most pastors in Liberia make less than $100 a month. Many barely make $60." My peers in West Africa live in abject poverty as they serve a people and a nation ruined by years of civil war. My life is luxury stacked upon luxury compared to theirs - indoor plumbing, electricity, a living wage, health care, access to technology, educational opportunities, home ownership, automobiles, and food security. From their perspective, my 2002 Pathfinder is a Hummer, my 1,800 square foot home a mansion, and my monthly salary a king's ransom.
The hard truth is that the majority of the world looks more like West Africa than North America, and the greatest luxury in America does not involve wealth or material possession but God. In a nation that defines needs as smartphones, flat screens, and entertainment God is the ultimate luxury item. Who needs God when you live in a nation obssessed with and defined by self-interest, comfort, safety, and security.
God is a luxury who sometimes receives a passing nod when all is well, a heartfelt cry in despair, or an unbriddled curse in tragedy. But make no mistake, in a nation of untold luxury where the mainline church is dying like a third world epidemic, God is a luxury. Where are those damn microscopic camels when you need one?
