When Faith Disrupts Business Examining Economic Justice Through Acts A Study of Acts 19:21:27 on the Daily Bible refresh with Dr. Brad Miller.

Hello my good friends, Dr. Brad Miller here with the Daily Bible Refresh, your daily visit to the New Testament from a progressive perspective.

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Here's our reading for the day from Acts 19:2127.

Reading from the message the goddess Artemis, after all, had reached its peak.

Paul decided it was time to move on to Macedonia and Acacia provinces and from there to Jerusalem.

Then he said, quote, I'm off to Rome.

I've got to see Rome.

He sent two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, on to Macedonia and then they stayed for a while and wrapped things up in Asia.

But before he got away, a huge ruckus occurred over what was now being referred to as, quote, the way a certain silversmith Demetrius conducted a brisk trade in the manufacture of shrines to the goddess Artemis, employing a number of artisans in his business.

And he rounded up his workers and others similarly employed and said, men, you well know that we have a good thing going here.

And you've seen how Paul has barged in and discredited what we're doing.

But by telling people that there's no such thing as a God made with hands, a lot of people are going along with him, not only here in Ephesus, but in the Asia province.

Not only is our little business in danger of falling apart, but the temple of our famous goddess Artemis will certainly end up in a pile of rubble as her glorious reputation fades to nothing.

And this is no mere local matter.

The whole world world worships our Artemis.

That's close quote there.

Well, this isn't a really kind of amazing passage of scripture and from the Book of Acts, which has a lot of fascinating stories in it and it really feels remarkably relevant to modern conversations about faith and economics and commerce and social change.

We have this situation with the people on code called the Way who created a significant upheaval among the local business community, the artisans.

And this conflict between the spiritual transformation and the economic interest of the day really mirrors a lot of our contemporary challenges.

Let's talk about some points to ponder.

The first has to do with the systems of power and privilege.

Demetrius Reaction to Paul's teaching reveals how religious and economic systems often intertwine to maintain power structures.

The silversmith's primary concern wasn't theological.

It was financial.

This reminds us to examine how economic interests might be shaping our own religious practices and beliefs today.

When does our faith challenge the status quo of wealth and power?

Then there's the point about sacred capitalism.

The shrine maker's resistance to change highlights how we often sanctify our economic systems.

Today.

We might ask how have we created our own shrines to capitalism?

How do we react when our faith calls us to challenge profitable but harmful practices, whether they're damaging to the environment or exploiting other people or perpetuating inequality?

One more point.

It's about community impact and transformation.

The text here shows how genuine spiritual transformation inevitably affects the broader community.

Paul's message wasn't just personal.

It had social, economic and political implications.

And this challenges you and I to consider.

Are we practicing a faith that's too private to be disruptive?

What would it mean for our faith to be truly.

To truly challenge unjust economic systems?

Here's your action step.

Conduct a sacred audit of your consumption habits.

Choose an area of your life.

Maybe it's clothing or food or technology purchases.

And research the labor practices which are connected to the production of that product and the environmental impact of the companies you regularly support.

Then identify one concrete challenge you can make to better align your economic choices with your spiritual values.

We'll come back and have a closing prayer in just a minute.

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Let's pray.

Oh God, you are a divine disruptor.

And give us courage to question the systems we've made sacred.

Wisdom to see where money has become our master and strength to choose justice over convenience.

Help us remember that true worship isn't found in shrines of silver but in lives of radical love and economic justice.

When change feels costly, remind us that your kingdom values are worth more than silver and gold.

Guide us as we seek to live our faith, not just in our prayers, but in our purchases and our practices.

Well friends, it's a pleasure to be with you and to offer the Daily Bible Refresh to you.

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