It’s Christmas! Today is the day that so many kids have waited for and so many parents have dreaded! This year I’d like to think economically about Christmas and the gospel of Jesus coming into the world. That’s right... economically... it should be fun :-)
I will have to start from the foundation of supply and demand as an economic theory, the gist of which says:
- the higher the demand the higher the price and vice versa (if you really want something you will pay more for it)
- the higher the supply the lower the price and vice versa (if there’s lots of something it’s not really worth that much)
[extract from ‘supply and demand’ posted on Dec 2nd 2008]
This morning I attended a PACKED Christmas service which was encouraging to see. But the corollary of course is that mostly the churches are not that full. Attendance is low. There are massive exceptions and world-wide this varies tremendously but in the main, church attendance is pretty low. Especially in the modern world like in America and the UK (the Christian powerhouses of old.) The supply of churches and christian merchandise has seemed to drop the demand for things that are ‘churchy’.
And yet in the past few decades the gospel, and Christianity as a way has flourished under oppression and persecution as was the case in China and Korea.
It seems that if you want Christianity to grow then fight it. And if you want to kill it and empty the churches, don’t oppose it.
These are interesting things to notice!
The story of Jesus is about the GIFT of salvation- and on a day like today when we are both receiving things that have cost other people money or giving presents that have cost us something, there is always a cost element involved. The same applies with Jesus. Except God’s gift has cost us nothing and has cost him everything. It is free. Yet cost an unfathomable amount.
And much like I don’t like pamphlets, a windscreen wash at the garage, bank diaries and most free stuff, I think that society doesn’t want what it can’t afford and thus the world refuses the greatest gift ever given to man.
Oversupply decreases value. Even for the Gospel?
I will have to start from the foundation of supply and demand as an economic theory, the gist of which says:
- the higher the demand the higher the price and vice versa (if you really want something you will pay more for it)
- the higher the supply the lower the price and vice versa (if there’s lots of something it’s not really worth that much)
[extract from ‘supply and demand’ posted on Dec 2nd 2008]
This morning I attended a PACKED Christmas service which was encouraging to see. But the corollary of course is that mostly the churches are not that full. Attendance is low. There are massive exceptions and world-wide this varies tremendously but in the main, church attendance is pretty low. Especially in the modern world like in America and the UK (the Christian powerhouses of old.) The supply of churches and christian merchandise has seemed to drop the demand for things that are ‘churchy’.
And yet in the past few decades the gospel, and Christianity as a way has flourished under oppression and persecution as was the case in China and Korea.
It seems that if you want Christianity to grow then fight it. And if you want to kill it and empty the churches, don’t oppose it.
These are interesting things to notice!
The story of Jesus is about the GIFT of salvation- and on a day like today when we are both receiving things that have cost other people money or giving presents that have cost us something, there is always a cost element involved. The same applies with Jesus. Except God’s gift has cost us nothing and has cost him everything. It is free. Yet cost an unfathomable amount.
And much like I don’t like pamphlets, a windscreen wash at the garage, bank diaries and most free stuff, I think that society doesn’t want what it can’t afford and thus the world refuses the greatest gift ever given to man.
Oversupply decreases value. Even for the Gospel?
Posts
