Market Theology

Typical day at the market with all your friends

Our guard recently wanted me to listen to a new worship song he downloaded on his phone (that one of our friends donated for him!). It was an interesting 15 minute song that covered a lot of material, from the woman at the well, to a certain kind of dance that’s becoming popular that Christians shouldn’t do (it looked the same to me as most of their dances so I don’t know what is particularly offensive), to a metaphor about life and the market that I found fascinating.

The song said that life is like the market (which is a pretty down-to-earth, everyday metaphor for people here). We must remember that we leave “home” to go to the “market” (aka life in this world), but that means we have to be ready to go back “home” after our time at the “market.” Some people have a problem that they get too attached and don’t want to leave the “market.” These people try to eat the market / devour the market, which is kind of like our sayings that you “shop till you drop” or “bought the whole store.” Apparently these people miss the point of life, trying to get more things or getting too attached to buying / owning.

To dig a little deeper into this comparison to the market, it’s important to know that the market is one of three main locations where life takes place here. These places are: outside your house preparing food (with people coming/going/visiting), outside by the street sitting with friends, and in the market where greeting and visiting people is just as important as buying and selling things.

There are obvious greed connections in this metaphor, but also the deeper warning against treating everyday life like a transaction. This market theology makes sense to people here, although even in this relational culture they need to be reminded not to focus on getting everything you can in the market. Rather, spending the time you have to invest in relationships and giving yourself for the ultimate purpose in life is the only thing that will last past the “market’s closing time.”

--El Padre