Slice of Laodicea in America

Revelation 3:17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

17 ὅτι λέγεις ὅτι πλούσιός εἰμι καὶ πεπλούτηκα καὶ οὐδὲν χρείαν ἔχω, καὶ οὐκ οἶδας ὅτι σὺ εἶ ὁ ταλαίπωρος καὶ ἐλεεινὸς καὶ πτωχὸς καὶ τυφλὸς καὶ γυμνός,

Here Jesus rebukes the church at Laodicea for being neither hot nor cold.  They were simply lukewarm.  Here He condemns them with evidence of why He would spit them out of His mouth.  It's a pretty indicting list, isn't it?

I think of the American church today.  It is clear that we are rich, we have prospered, and we don't seem to need anything.  We forget that we are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.  And why wouldn't we forget that?  We have built grand edifices to house our "ministries."  We have top-notch sound and video systems.  Our preaching is polished and we could hold our music up against anything published by any label.  It's quite a system we have going on.

The more theologically-minded of us may decry the pomp and money spent by the Roman Church.  The Vatican Museum is something to see and it makes the Protestant wonder how many mouths could be fed with the riches contained therein.  But the same could be said for our megachurches today.  Just the heating and cooling costs alone could feed a village of orphans in Uganda.

I do want to make clear that I think there should be excellence in what we do.  We should preach as well as we can and we should strive to have a gifted preacher delivering the sermon.  Someone with my singing "abilities" has no business trying to lead corporate singing.  But somewhere I think we've crossed a line.  My prayer is that I can be part of a reformation in this area.  Will you join me?