What Would Jesus Do Post Industrial Revolution?
I’ve been in full time ministry most of my vocational life, but while getting my master’s degree I took a detour into the business world for a few years. While working as a fitness trainer, a sales manager position opened that sold fitness training packages for a national gym chain. I was hesitant at first, not knowing if I would like sales and had certain assumptions about salespeople, but I applied and got the job. Fast forward three years and I was traveling along the northeast, regularly coaching other sales managers how to listen, overcome objections, meet the needs of the people in front of them, and increase their gym’s revenue and profit margins. I learned a lot about myself, the effect money has on us, and human nature within environments that are competitive.
Looking back, in a sense, this time was a short term personal anthropological study of the effects money, the market, power, and status can have on human beings toward other human beings. I’ll circle back to this at the end of this post. This type of market dynamic touches on Karl Polanyi’s book, The Great Transformation, where he investigates and gives a historical overview of the industrial revolution and the market economies effect on society and community. Polanyi argues that the self-regulating market that emerged during the eighteenth and nineteenth century was a unique phenomenon with negative social and economic consequences.
Developments, in general, do not seem to be the issue for Polanyi as much as the kinds of changes this type of market economy was having on society, especially around land and human labor. Polanyi explains, “But labor and land are no other than the human beings themselves of which every society consists of and the natural surroundings in which exists. To include them in the market mechanism means to subordinate the substance of society itself to the laws of market.”[1] The latter part of this quote reveals one of the major issues being addressed and diagnosed in Polanyi’s book. What type of society did the SRM create? This is also where I believe Max Weber’s, The Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism and Francis Fukuyama’s, Identity can be woven into the conversation.
Jason Clark in his paper, Evangelicalism and Capitalism, explains, “The market itself becomes a society, as identity and practice relocate from within religious communities to the market itself as the site of a new religious and embedded community, a new market community.” [2] A chain of events seems to occur if I am understanding the theories of these books correctly. A type of capitalism and work ethic, not the kind that is high production and high consumption, is founded upon and born within a Christian Evangelical theological framework. As time goes on the very foundation this type of society is built on with certain Christian values, communal responsibilities, and eschatological hopes is lost. This produces a “market society” with different priorities. Now the western culture is both high production and high consumption which increases humanities competitive nature in the economy resembling Darwinian’s “survival of the fittest”. [3]
James Fowler, a professor of Human Development and theologian, lays out a fascinating theory in his book, Stages of Faith. He says humans have the potential to move through various stages of development and proposes that much of the world operates and thrives on competition (stage three), at least when he wrote it in the eighties long after the industrial revolution. Has competition always been a part of human existence? Is this the type of kingdom Jesus was turning upside down?
This tribe against that tribe.
This kingdom against that kingdom.
This nation against that nation.
This political party against that political party.
This religion, denomination, or theology against that religion, denomination, or theology.
This business against that business.
The industrial revolution could have just given opportunity for western humanities competitive nature to now thrive in the economic arena, especially without its religious or spiritual roots, if Max Weber’s theory is correct. However, James Fowler observed that after individuals, and I believe communities, move through a very difficult period (stage 4) of intense critical examination of their inherited beliefs or systems through education or various experiences they may move away from competitive behavior and embrace wonder, cooperation, and collaboration (stage 5).[4]
As Dr. Clark pointed out, we really don’t know what came first, the chicken or the egg concerning some of these theories around capitalism, religion, and the industrial revolution. All we know is that certain realities existed and still exist today. How can we as Christians avoid contributing to and perpetuating a society that primarily operates and defines success through competition and survival?
Circling back to when I was fully immersed in the business world, or “market society”, for a few years, it was my faith that countered some of the cultural values that came with the territory. I have to say that I also found some of the behaviors, motives, and emotional maturity in this environment were just as healthy, if not healthier, then what I encountered in some ministry context. I learned a lot during this period. However, the higher I climbed the ladder, the more I noticed an ethical struggle between keeping people’s genuine wellbeing as my priority and hitting my quarterly numbers for the sake of succeeding and providing for my family. On top of that, was the environment of status, material reward, prestige, and recognition that comes with success. Meglothymia, “the desire to be recognized as superior” that Francis Fukuyama discusses in Identity, was recognized as a virtue in these spaces. [5]
To be honest, getting public recognition on company calls felt good. Receiving awards at banquets was nice. Seeing my name at the top of the sales board was a rush. A higher salary and bonuses made my families life much easier after working in full time ministry for so many years. I really do not see anything inherently wrong with these things. However, during my sales career, my conscience was struck one day while doing a consultation when I saw the person in front of me as a means to get more of what I mentioned earlier, rather than a person who had a legitimate need and a budget. It was my faith and, I believe, God’s spirit that redirected my motive in that moment. After that, I committed to selling with integrity, but moments like these revealed the lure of money, success, and competition.
This does lead to questions around money and its effect on Christian faith and human values. 1 Timothy 6:10 says, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
Questions this raises for me:
Do I live to work or work to live?
How is human identity, success, and worth really measured in western culture? Even Christian culture?
Am I sacrificing people on the altar of money or sacrificing money on the 
alter for people? (Metaphorical!)
And of course…What would Jesus do post industrial revolution?
[1] Polanyi, Karl, The Great Transformation, (Boston: Beacon Press, 1985), 71.
[2] Clark, Jason, Evangelicalism and Capitalism: A Reparative Account and Diagnosis of Pathogeneses in the Relationship, (London School of Theology, 2018), 135.
[3] Clark, Evangelicalism, 151.
[4] Fowler, James W. Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning, (First HarperCollins paperback edition. New York, NY: Harper One, 1995).
[5] Fukuyama, Francis, Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment, (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018), xiii.
About the Author
Adam Harris
I am currently the Associate Pastor at a church called Godwhy in Hendersonville, TN near Nashville. We love questions and love people even more. Our faith community embraces God and education wholeheartedly. I graduated from Oral Roberts University for undergrad and Vanderbilt for my masters. I teach historical critical Biblical studies at my church to help our community through their questions and ultimately deepen their faith. I love research, writing, learning, and teaching. I oversee our staff and leadership development. Before being at Godwhy I worked as a regional sales coach and director for Anytime Fitness. I've been married for over 13 years to my best friend and we have two amazing boys that keep us busy.10 responses to “What Would Jesus Do Post Industrial Revolution?”
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Adam, I enjoy reading your posts. You have a wonderfully articulate way of writing both academically and reflectively which I greatly admire. You wrote of your time in the business world, the tension you faced, and your wonderful response to it. What tensions do you face navigating the ministry world? The reason I am asking is that I am in the reverse situation. While in ministry I struggled with certain expectations of how our money should be spent versus times when our financial support was not enough. Now that I own a business I feel somewhat guilty charging for my services. In both situations I provided help and support to others. My financial situation is quite different now. I hope my question makes sense…my brain is a little fuzzy today and I just deleted my original response to your post by mistake!
Oh no! That’s always a bummer when you lose what you wrote. I’ve had that happen a few times myself. Thanks for the encouragement Jenny concerning my post.
Anytime money is involved there will be tension. Ministry is no different. I will say the culture and priority around money is MUCH different in the context I’m in now (a non-profit) verses being in a market central environment. There are so many philosophies around money! What a tricky subject? In the business world I think it is all about finding the sweet spot between charging someone something that reflects the value of that thing or service and giving away the farm. (Especially if you are a very empathetic person).
Moving from a ministry environment to becoming a salesperson, I struggled with how much we charged people for some of our services. Part of that was from what I used to be able to afford. Many in our area were fine with it, but if I really felt that person couldn’t afford something, but really needed training I got creative and found a way if I could. At the end of the day what we charge has to make sense to cover overhead, compensate our time, make a living, and support the value of what we are doing. I know your heart is to help people. Knowing your heart and what you do Jenny, I wouldn’t feel too guilty. Hope that makes sense!
Great Post!
You wrote, “moments like these revealed the lure of money, success, and competition.”
Hmm…your comments have me reflecting upon my own earning history. Signing up for the Army, the priority was God, country and family. Money was mandated by congress and to be frank hovers around the poverty level for many of our younger soldiers and their families.
The only time it went up is when we got combat zone pay.
The upside was, it was hard to get fired!
Just a different perspective.
Shalom…
Thanks Russell, this posts was my own journey with money, especially when I went from full time ministry to business, now I am back in ministry. Being in these contrasting environments allowed me to see and feel the difference money can have on people. In ministry I did what I did primarily from a vision and passion to serve folks, in business I still loved doing that but monetary reward was a real possibility all the time and I noticed that did have an effect on how I saw people at times, and I did not always like it.
Looks like many people in the military have a relationship with money like people in ministry to an extent. lol
Adam,
Excellent Post! I love the way you connected your experience to the Reading. This statement really stood out to me, you write: “All we know is that certain realities existed and still exist today. How can we as Christians avoid contributing to and perpetuating a society that primarily operates and defines success through competition and survival?”
I wish I knew the answer to this…
Thanks Jonita, and me too! I am finding the people who are moving away from this “competitive” mentality have a different lens, a universal one. That is, they see past the “outer form” of things and people and see the Christ in us all. A lot of mystics see this way. Pierre de Chardin, a Jesuit Priest, is another person who thinks like this. He coined the famous quote, “We are not physical beings having spiritual experiences, but spiritual beings have physical ones.”
A lot of people I’ve spoken with you have had near death experiences lose any desire to compete with others. Some completely change jobs. They believe social class, success, race, orientation, ethnicities, etc are all roles we play for certain purposes, but it is not who we really are. We are all family and connected more than we realize. Sounds great right! Food for thought, but I’m enjoying the journey of discovery.
This is really great. Great writing. Great thinking. Thanks
I was writing on another response about the commodification of people… I think that’s what you are writing about here. That you were looking at that person thinking of what they could give you economically instead of seeing them with the Imago Dei.
Ultimately stewardship is seeing the way God does and valuing people/things as HE values them and helping them to thrive. Commodification is assigning value as it serves us. And that’s where unchecked capitalism leads.
Thanks for helping me understand this section of the class better. This last few weeks have been challenging but I’m being blessed as I’m stretching into new ways of thinking.
Thanks Tim, and that is exactly what I was getting at, you find yourself seeing people as a means to an end, rather then people being the point. I love that you said seeing the Imago Dei in others. What a simple but radical way to interact with folks. I was telling Russell the contrast I felt from being in full time ministry to the business world. I loved helping people in both areas, but I did feel a difference when more money was available depending on my performance. It caused me to do some soul searching which I am actually very grateful for in the long run.
I agree, these last few weeks have required me to do a lot more chewing to digest these ideas, but it’s been worth it. I’m in the same boat, I’ve been stretched a-lot, but I’m enjoying it and its been an educational blessing.
Hey Sir Adam, I love how you take past readings and incorporate them into your blogs! Excellent bro. Well, I have an easy question. As you worked in the market place you said you experienced emotional maturity and healthy motives. If you have any time can you give me an example of when you saw or experienced healthy motives in your workplace?
Thanks Todd! The EQ in my particular companies culture was very high. They encouraged self reflection, honest feedback, how to receive feedback without offense, active listening, and hunger for education. I was in the fitness industry, the higher I got up the more money was a motivator for people (not overbearing, but it was there), but most of the trainers and lead trainers did what they did because they loved fitness and loved seeing people transform. Many of them would go over and above for their clients without any more compensation. It really was a service and ministry for these people. Very inspiring. Most that I worked with were from MN and Washington DC.