I have an apology to make.
I have been living as a Christian in a world dominated by greed.
And yet this hasn't bothered me at all.
I have thought it is perfectly possible to serve both God and money.
I have thought it is possible to preach the gospel faithfully without demonstrating either by what I say or by the way I live that I reject the idols of our age.
In fact, I have thought that challenging or rejecting the idols of our age would be a distraction from preaching the gospel.
I have made myself a worshipper of those idols by seeing my identity as a consumer and my worth in terms of what I consume.
And I have thought that worshipping those idols is okay, so long as I go to church, read the Bible, pray, don't swear very much, and try to be nice to people.
I have thought that God's purposes for the world would be fulfilled by everyone acting according to their own narrow economic self-interest, and I have behaved accordingly.
I have consistently acted with no concern for the poor: today's poor, or tomorrow's poor.
I have used the self-righteousness of some who boast about how "ethical" they are as an excuse for my own indifference as to whether my actions are "ethical" or not.
I have said I believe that the world was created good, and that people were created to steward its limited and precious resources well, and yet lived as though I didn't care at all how quickly or irreversibly those precious resources are used or destroyed.
In fact, I have thought that a society should be measured in terms of how quickly it uses the earth's resources.
I have said I believe that this creation will be restored and transformed when Jesus returns, and yet lived as though the only purpose of this creation was to satisfy my greedy desires.
I have acted in ways that the Bible describes in terms of adultery, thinking I could serve the God of the Bible and simultaneously prostitute myself to gods of money, greed and covetousness.
I'm sorry, Lord.
Please help me to repent.
Please help me to follow you.
(Amen?)