Continuing the Conversation … June 21
This weekend we talked about the connection between anxiety and consumerism. We are anxious because we don’t have while we remain anxious preserving what we do. The real danger of consumerism is that it serves as an idol. Without us knowing it our desire for money and/or the stuff money provides can become an object of worship. I call this worship because we end up organizing our lives around it and responding to the anxiety it provokes instead of living in God’s Kingdom and with an awareness of his presence.
Here is one story of consumerism from Matt C. My Cross of Consumption
To a greater or lesser extent Matt’s story is our story. We often cope with our anxiety through purchasing power, through consumption, through consumerism. Jesus’ words below remind us that we cannot consume our way to discipleship.
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
We begin to break free from the trap of consumerism by entering a life of discipleship to Jesus. We begin to live a life of discipleship by listening to a different story.
But there are other results of giving in to consumerism. Can you think of any examples?
When my daughter was having trouble keeping her room clean, I brought out some Rubbermaid tubs and told her that some of her toys were going to have to go to the basement. She was allowed to keep 5 toys out at a time. I thought she would be resistant to the process, but the opposite was true. She gladly put her toys in the boxes. I realized then that the excess was overwhelming her. She was happy to do away with the responsibility that came with owning that much stuff. I have packed a few boxes of my own since then and it did feel pretty good.
I like that Annie. “She was happy to do away with the responsibility that came with owning that much stuff.” Oh, for us all to learn that lesson. There is a certain joy that comes with having boundaries.
I missed your speakage on Sat Paul. My son was having a hard time listening so we walked the woods behind the church. The birds were beautiful. Even the wren came to visit us.
it’s so rewarding to find fulfillment in time and love and giving than it is in the neat new watch or the impressive library of movies. It’s strange that it’s so hard to do. Maybe it has to do with a little escapism….a drive to leave the self.
STUFF is like fine sugar. It tastes so nice…and feels so rotten when engorged.
I love what you wrote Annie.
Yes, I like what Annie said too. When we get a pet — or have a baby — we realize that you don’t just bring it home and that’s that. You have to feed it every day, and that’s just for starters. But we don’t usually have the same thought process when we get home from Target with some brand new gizmo. Gizmos require maintenance, too. At the very least they require dusting! But what happens is that we acquire more stuff than we can maintain. And the stuff we don’t maintain gets dirty, dull, worn, and broken. (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve despaired of being able to take care of all my stuff!) And then we throw it away. A big part of consumerism is throwing things away. If we just thought about how much responsibility we were taking on by purchasing things, maybe we wouldn’t purchase so many things.
Matt, you’re right. I think consumerism is a form of escapism. It is a way we avoid ourselves and God. We avoid ourselves, I believe, because there is stuff inside us that we would rather not face. While made in God’s image that image is marred, obscured by our “stuff”. We need to present our real selves to God but that requires a vulnerability that few of us are comfortable with.
Buying stuff, entertaining ourselves todeath, all of these things keep us from facing our deepest needs.