June 2008

Dear Friends,

Kathleen Koran, pastor of Trinity Lutheran in Southeast, shared with me that a Trinity member was flying home from a trip to help out with Habitat for Humanity, and the in-fight magazine had a couple of ads that jumped out at her, jarring her with a cultural disconnect after the spiritual experience she had just had with Habitat. The ads were for two different home furnishing stores selling their wares. One was called Home Less, with a little chair icon between the words, and the other was G.O.D. – goods of desire. Who knows if these folks intended their ads to be ironic on purpose, but don’t they perfectly capture our culture? We can afford to outfit our homes for less, ignoring the home-less, and we turn our search for life from God to goods of desire. I think it’s great. We are a materialistic society, and it’s refreshingly honest to own up to it. Right? Except I’m guessing that neither of these companies gets their own joke.

For one, if you go to G.O.D.’s website, you will discover that they are an Asian company, and that English translation isn’t their number one talent. But listen to this incredibly theologically insightful direct quote on why they chose their name: “G.O.D. is the phonetic sound of the Cantonese slang ‘to live better’, because to live better is a basic human desire in Hong Kong, Asia and the world.” What preacher could argue with that? Further, their company mission is to define a “New Asian Identity,” professing that as they are a different people, from the rest of the world, they should live differently. Their “exciting challenge ... is to define a new identity for their community.” Yes! I’m 100% with them! GOD is the essence of living better, and it is our mission, indeed our “exciting challenge,” as disciples of GOD, to redefine our culture and create a new identity for our community.

Who knew there was a furniture company out there so GOD-driven that it was willing to take up the discipleship of creating GOD’s kingdom, and therein become a symbol of subversive counter-culture? The folks at G.O.D. know that it is the divine will to steadfastly adhere to the traditions of our faith while reaching out to draw in the modern world: “With the rise of Asia as a significant economic force, the world will also show increasing interest in Asian lifestyle and culture. G.O.D. intends to capitalize on this phenomenon by providing an eastern derived lifestyle concept, as an alternative to the established Western way of living. By exploring age‑old Oriental traditions and up dating them with modern consumers in mind, G.O.D. wants to demonstrate that the techniques and wisdom of past generations in the east still has a place in the future world.” Did you get that? The world is reaching out to us, and we want to provide an alternative way of living, demonstrating that the faith of our fathers (and mothers) from past generations still has a place in the future world.

Thanks be to GOD for the lesson from G.O.D., that the love of Christ can and will change the world and its culture — however, I don’t think it will happen by buying chairs. Habitat for Humanity, on the other hand, sounds like a great way to begin.

May GOD be the Goods Of Desire, and lead us to be transformed to living differently, and offering that new life to all whom we meet.

Peace and joy,

Martin

To read Martin's letters from past months, please click here.