journey something

I was wondering if anyone was asking themselves why a blog meant for spirituality would concern itself so much with the subject of consumerism. After some thought and discussion with a few friends, the reason seems obvious.

There is a massive void when it comes to the meeting of spiritual needs in the people of our society. Most feel worthless, lack purpose, cultivate shame, and experience little if any authentic love in their lives. I believe that this is a spiritual problem because the work of God in a person is the foundation for finding real worth, purpose, grace, and love. When this Presence is absent, a person will try anything to fill the void. Until the Spirit brings healing to people, one by one, we will suffer from rampant consumerism. 

We all know that the first step in kicking an addiction is acknowledging the problem. I think each of us can pick our consumeristic poison. Whether it is buying clothes, cars, music, home decor, gasoline, magazines, macs, or lawn supplies. For me, REI tends to be my biggest trap. In buying outdoor equipment I fool myself into thinking I’ll get outside more (something that actually does feed me spiritually). Just recently I even bought a brand new $300 tent that has already sat in my basement for over a month… without being used. What’s your product/drug of choice?

Consuming is an intoxicating way of life for me and most of us in the US. We’ve been using since birth and totally blind to the destructive habit that threatens to poison us from the inside out. We are spiritually strangling ourselves and physically holding the world around us hostage with our greed and selfishness (have you heard that world hunger could end with the amount of money that people in the US spend on ice cream in one year?). 

In conclusion, I am feeling the need to give some deep spiritual answer, possibly with some biblical text or theological argument. In reality however I think that this issue is way too complex for a simple nugget of encouragement. Today, fighting consumerism in The United States of America simply begins with me; acknowledging my addiction and changing my habits, realizing my needs and inviting the Spirit to bring wholeness.