Articles
Microwave Christianity
Not too long ago I was able to listen to a sermon that discussed some of the ideas concerning Microwave Christianity. Have you ever heard this phrase used before? Think about the purpose of a microwave and how you use it. A microwave is used to heat up food (mostly leftovers), defrost items, cook some things etc. You can do all this with the push of a button. No effort and no work at all. Just the push of a button. That’s awfully easy and convenient, wouldn’t you say so? Now, just take that and apply it to Christianity and what do you get? A group of people who want their lives to be nothing more than an easy, push button, comfortable and convenient means to an end.
I don’t know about you, but as far as I can see in scriptures, those descriptions are absolutely foreign and contrary to the will of God much less the examples of Christianity we see in the New Testament. How is it though, that among God’s people there seems to be a strong practice of this very thing? People that clock in and clock out of services as if it’s some desk job. Others who can’t wait to leave services to get on with their lives because we wouldn’t want to miss that important sports game or family barbecue. Folks that argue and divide themselves over the color of the church building or what the temperature on the thermostat it. Would you be at all surprised if I told you there were churches that split because of such things? That’s a lot like what microwave Christianity resembles.
21stcentury Christianity, unfortunately, seems to fall under the category of microwave Christianity more than anything else. The question is: Do we practice such things?Are we keen on clocking in and clocking out? Do we pick up our bibles any other day of the week that’s not Sunday or Wednesday? Are you pushing that microwave button hoping to get on with your lives and missing the reality of what Christianity actually is?
Christianity in the scriptures resembles more a campfire than a microwave. A campfire takes work to build and it takes a lot of effort to maintain it. You have to fan the flame, gather more wood and make sure you’re feeding the fire, so it doesn’t fade out. It’s all about hard work and effort. That’s what I see in the New Testament. Not that counterfeit stuff we call microwave Christianity. I see Christians that were rejoicing with one another, sharing the word with each other, preaching and singing as much as they could, whenever they could. They put a lot of hard work into the growth of their faith. Jesus said that we must strive to enter the narrow way (cf. Luke 13:24). That word strive means hard work! We must carefully look at ourselves and ensure we aren’t trying to practice microwave Christianity. If we are then we need to start being like a campfire. Fan the flame and put the work in. Do you prefer the microwave or the campfire?
