Consumerism

I know, I know, you're getting tired of all of my ranting about isms. (Patrick at least is.)

Well I think this one is destroying the church.

Main Entry: con·sum·er·ism
Pronunciation: k&n-'sü-m&-"ri-z&m, -m&r-"i-
Function: noun
1 : the promotion of the consumer's interests
2 : the theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically desirable; also : a preoccupation with and an inclination toward the buying of consumer goods


We will be looking at both definitions.

The first definition helps us understand consumeristic christianity. Today most people look at the church for what they get out of it. They join a church for the great children's program, or the single's ministry. They weight the commodities of different churches and then choose the one that is heaviest in their concerns.

This all goes back to our good friend Novatian. He lived in the first half of the 3rd century during a period of intense Roman persecution. Many of the christian leaders at the time recanted, handed over scripture to be burned, and allied themselves somewhat with Rome to avoid the destruction of the church, and their own martyrdom. When the persecutions lessened many of the leaders were reinstated. Novatian did not believe they should be in leadership after these sins they had committed so publicly.

Thus Novatian really created the first denomination. Essentially he started the practice of splitting from the church to start another when brethren (and sister...then...sisterthen...sistren?) could not agree. Novatianism is the idea that splitting the church is the way to solve the problem. We have Novatian to blame for the reformation and denominations (not that it couldn't have happened without his influence).

When we look at churches as different bodies within a community that offer different things we have already far down the path of division. Church should be the body of believers limited by geography, not belief.

Now we must not ignore the problem, but deal with it. How can we reform consumeristic Christianity? Churches must stop catering to the needs of believers in order to attract the largest gathering possible. Somewhere along the line the church (institution) decided that it needed to pander to the believers every need, rather than lead a body of people in the same direction toward the kingdom of God.




Definition two

2 : the theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically desirable; also : a preoccupation with and an inclination toward the buying of consumer goods

This one speaks directly into my life a little more. A lot of the changes God has been causing in my heart deal either directly or indirectly with this thought. I am obsessed with having things, not even with the things themselves, but with having and using them.

I am not the wisest spender because of it. I must have whatever it is I want, and then when I have it, I move on to the next thing. I don't even enjoy the things I have because of my insatiable lust for more things. Brian Mclaren pretty much draws my heart in a book when he says,

"One acquires more and more things without ever taking the time to ever see and know them, and thus one never truly enjoys them. One has without truly having. The consumer is right -there is pleasure to be had in good things, a sacred and almost unspeakable pleasure: but the consumer wrongly thinks that one finds this pleasure by having more and more possessions instead of by possessing them more truly through grateful contemplation. And here we are, living in an economy that perpetuates this tragedy. And outrage! A pity."



So where do we go from here? We learn to love and enjoy the things god has created and trusted us with, rather than just lusting for more and newer things. We squeeze every last drop of god's goodness from our possessions, never possessing them for our own selfish lust, but for god's goodness.