Cashless Banks
02/11/10 13:38 Filed in: Parable
I was in a bank the other day with a friend. I settled into one of the comfy sofas while he carried out his transaction, only for him to come over with a bewildered look on his face saying, “They don’t do money”. Somewhat surprised at this turn of events in a bank I approached the ‘cashier’ who explained that they were a cashless bank—I knew things were bad, but surely not this bad. But the best was yet to come—“If you want to lodge money, you need to go to the Post Office”
“And where do I go to get money out?” I asked.
“Oh you need to go to Dunnes, they’ve an ATM at the back.”
Ok, so I think I have it, Post Office to lodge money, Dunnes to get money out, and the bank for… nice sofas and a nice lady to talk to—I wonder if they do coffee?
I understand the thinking behind it—outsourcing the more costly, less productive aspects, to maximise efficiency and profits.
But the banks aren’t the only ones at it; rather staggeringly churches have been at this game for years. Where we now have cashless banks, we have had Christ-less churches for much longer. What do I mean? Simply put, there are churches right across the religious spectrum where Christ is rarely preached. He may be given a passing nod, in the manner of a long gone founder figure, but he is not preached about, his great work of salvation is not explained and his great offer of forgiveness is not held out week by week.
Churches have been turned into some sort of a social club, whose main purpose is to maintain a cultural identity. Christ has been lost; his message is ignored and even disliked.
And what mystifies me is that there are people who genuinely love Jesus who persist in attending such Christless churches. At least my bank, for all its faults, hasn’t lost sight of its main purpose, it still looks after my money, if not the cash aspect. But these churches have eviscerated themselves of their very heart and soul. Why stay there? The church is not primarily a mission field; it is where Christians go to get fed so that they can go out to tell people about Jesus. If where you go on a Sunday is a treasureless chest with little more than cultural cobwebs keeping people together, then I implore you to find a place where the preacher reaches weekly into the great treasure chest of scripture and brings out the riches of Christ for you to enjoy.
“Therefore every teacher who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.” – Matthew 13:52
A cashless bank can still handle our finances, but a Christless church cannot handle our souls.
“And where do I go to get money out?” I asked.
“Oh you need to go to Dunnes, they’ve an ATM at the back.”
Ok, so I think I have it, Post Office to lodge money, Dunnes to get money out, and the bank for… nice sofas and a nice lady to talk to—I wonder if they do coffee?
I understand the thinking behind it—outsourcing the more costly, less productive aspects, to maximise efficiency and profits.
But the banks aren’t the only ones at it; rather staggeringly churches have been at this game for years. Where we now have cashless banks, we have had Christ-less churches for much longer. What do I mean? Simply put, there are churches right across the religious spectrum where Christ is rarely preached. He may be given a passing nod, in the manner of a long gone founder figure, but he is not preached about, his great work of salvation is not explained and his great offer of forgiveness is not held out week by week.
Churches have been turned into some sort of a social club, whose main purpose is to maintain a cultural identity. Christ has been lost; his message is ignored and even disliked.
And what mystifies me is that there are people who genuinely love Jesus who persist in attending such Christless churches. At least my bank, for all its faults, hasn’t lost sight of its main purpose, it still looks after my money, if not the cash aspect. But these churches have eviscerated themselves of their very heart and soul. Why stay there? The church is not primarily a mission field; it is where Christians go to get fed so that they can go out to tell people about Jesus. If where you go on a Sunday is a treasureless chest with little more than cultural cobwebs keeping people together, then I implore you to find a place where the preacher reaches weekly into the great treasure chest of scripture and brings out the riches of Christ for you to enjoy.
“Therefore every teacher who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.” – Matthew 13:52
A cashless bank can still handle our finances, but a Christless church cannot handle our souls.