Here’s a question a friend shared with me this morning. Can capitalism and spirituality mix? On the surface you might say no. In western society capitalism seems to be practiced in a way that means profits at all costs. If the bottom line can be improved then ethical and moral considerations might be brushed aside. Of course, that’s not a fair evaluation of the original intent of capitalism which is to operate businesses in a free market with competition for consumers are not encumbered by heavy-handed government regulation.

God gives each of us talents. If you gift is the ability to make money and the money is not your god (an idol) and you use the money to help others then I think God would and does encourage that. It’s an interesting area to explore.

I came across a web site focused on Christian business success and you might want to take a look at Christian Business Success.

People often struggle over the concept of God. Just what is God like? Does God exist in a body? Is there truly an inerrant written word – i.e. the Bible or Holy Scripture – that can be trusted as God’s message?

I think that God is always going to be part mystery. Who can know the mind of such a supreme being? The danger for Christians, or believers of other faiths, is becoming convinced that we have all the answers down pat. Fundamentalism typically refuses to view the mystery and the questions as a way of driving us deeper into a trusting relationship with God.

Our approach at Living the Solution is to welcome seekers and encourage questions. We have beliefs, but we are willing to go deeper in discovering the truth, a truth we believe is revealed by God as Holy Spirit. I invite you to explore some of the basic discourse on Christianity and God that forms the backbone of our site and you can take a tour by reading starting with the Finding God section.

Tom Gilbert

The new Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, has just been released. J. K. Rowling’s series has been incredibly popular with young readers around the world. However, there has been controversy over the books in Christian circles. Are the books a bad influence? Do they promote witchcraft?

My personal opinion after reading them with my two children is that there is a lot of good in the books. There is a theme of good versus evil and the books definitely come down on the side of good triumphing over evil. Plus, any writer who can get children to read books in the range of 500-800 pages obviously helps encourage reading.

What would be great is more people discovering the great fantasy writing specifically targeted to young people by the likes of C. S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia) or Madeleine L’Engle (A Wrinkle in Time or A Wind in the Door). These authors are Christians with a big view of the mystery of God and thought-provoking imaginative themes for their novels.

You can read several commentaries about the Harry Potter series at Gospelcom.net.

Tom Gilbert

Is there anything harder or than can be more frustrating than looking for work? I’m sure there is – for instance, dealing with life and death issues, be they your own or someone close to you. But, when you are faced with the job search it can be difficult.

I speak from experience. There have been many times in my life when I’ve left or lost a job and the time spent searching for what is next is important and challenging. Naturally you have to brush up the resume and network like crazy. But there are bigger questions to ask, like what do you really want to do with your life and what is God calling you to do.

There is a pretty good article addressing this subject by John Crist on the RELEVANT magazine web site. Read it here and may you find the work that best utilizes your talents for the benefit of others. That’s what it is really all about.

Tom Gilbert

The spiritual journey can be a strange, wonderful, confusing and even humorous adventure. We humans are complicated. However, so much of what I see in mass media is aimed at our base instincts. The desire for love, security, shelter, relationships and the like is natural. It is amazing how those instincts can be used for fodder of outrageous television reality shows or loud talk show content.

Jesus Christ, as revealed in the Gospels, was amazingly centered and real through his interactions. Lest we think that today we have the lowest moral character the world has ever known we should study history to see that there has always been crass culture.

How do we deal with it? A sense of humor helps, but we also have to take responsibility not to buy into all the escapism and scape-goating. A daily regimen of quiet prayer and contemplation coupled with action in our community to carry a message of respect, hope and love can go a long way towards changing our world – one person at a time.

Tom Gilbert