... and there's nothing wrong with that." the Discovery Card commercial says. Hmmm. Is that true? Is there nothing wrong with being a nation of consumers? I guess it could be said that we are all consumers to some extent. We consume food and resources, that's for sure. But in the past this has been balanced with being producers of things. And in the past, it was always balanced with an attitude of contentment. By that I mean, it was a tenant of Christianity (and is still a tenant of true Christianity) that we are not to covet and we are to be content. What does that mean?
Does it mean that contentment has to be the enemy of progress? In other words, if we are content do we still look to improve the quality of life, or better yet, SHOULD we look to improve our quality of life? Now for most people, that answer is pretty simple. Yes. Chairs... good improvement. More comfortable, easier to get in and out of. Tables, electricity, running water... all things that the majority of people would say are good things. So was this "not being content"? I don't think so, but let's go further... What about the people who buy something MORE than what they need, for reasons beyond simple need, or quality of life? What about folks who buy things as a social status?
I read an article written by a preacher that said this: (and I think it offers a good balance on consumerism and contentment)
I have said that Abraham possessed nothing. Yet was not this poor man rich? Everything he had owned before was still his to enjoy: sheep, camels, herds, and goods of every sort. He had also his wife and his friends, and best of all he had his son Isaac safe by his side. He had everything, but he possessed nothing.
There is the spiritual secret. There is the sweet theology of the heart which can be learned only in the school of renunciation. The books on systematic theology overlook this, but the wise will understand.
After that bitter and blessed experience I think the words `my' and `mine' never had again the same meaning for Abraham. The sense of possession which they connote was gone from his heart. things had been cast out forever.They had now become external to the man. His inner heart was free from them. The world said, `Abraham is rich,' but the aged patriarch only smiled. He could not explain it to them, but he knew that he owned nothing, that his real treasures were inward and eternal.
There can be no doubt that this possessive clinging to things is one of the most harmful habits in the life. Because it is so natural it is rarely recognized for the evil that it is; but its outworkings are tragic. We are often hindered fromgiving up our treasures to the Lord out of fear for their safety; this is especially true when those treasures are loved relatives and friends. But we need have no such fears. Our Lord came not to destroy but to save. Everything is safe which we commit to Him, and nothing is really safe which is not so committed.
The preacher was A. W. Tozer. His book, "The Pursuit of God" (read it online for free) should be required reading for Christians. When we become possessed by our possessions and always need, bigger, better, more, we're in dangerous territory.
I also believe that if we AREN'T producing things with our hands and minds, that we are in danger also. You see, I say this because in perfection, God had placed man in the Garden to keep it, and that takes work, production, etc. And it's when we can and do create and produce things that we remember that all these "things" are just that... something that was created. Something that until it was assembled or created, didn't exist... and one day will not exist. Something that is carnal and temporary.
It goes a long way in helping us not to become possessed. And really it's one of the reasons we are so possessed by our stuff today. Because we consume it, we have an addiction and need to get our fix. When Apple comes out with the latest greatest phone... we wait in line days on end to be able to possess (or be possessed) by it before others do.
I am just as guilty as others... but I pray that God opens my eyes to eternal vision and that which can be possessed eternally.
