A couple of months ago I was in Orlando and happened to go to a college group the night before I left. I was blown away! Not so much by the massive crowd or the cool light effects, but what was being communicated through the message.He spoke on Simplicity. He talked about the fact that we have ingrained in us the compulsive, almost uncontrollable desire and need to consume.
Think about it. On a daily basis how often and how much do we consume? We find thrill in the purchase, but soon after are left very little satisfaction then looking for the next thing to buy.
Why is this important to even consider. The speaker made this quote “We are not what we consume.” But this is exactly opposite to what our culture says. We are constantly pressured to purchase in pursuit of social acceptance or the need to fit a certain mold. It not so much the problem that we consume, but why we do it. Is it b/c we need to? Have we been polluted to think that life is no more than purchases and transactions. Commercials consume one-third of every T.V. show! And what do you think they are telling you to do? Purchase! Buy! Consume!
Why would our culture being pushing us to always feel the need to buy something new? Are we being Pacified with material trinkets, so we do not desire Spiritual riches? Is the plan of the enemy not to cripple or harm us, but to distract us? If he can get our eyes set on earth, we will never consider what lies in the heavens.
You may disagree, but I heard this response by Richard Wurmbrand, the Romanian pastor who was persecuted under the communist government for 14 years. He was being asked by a group of pastors in the 1960′s how he thought communism would have an affect on the world. His response was The American church should be focusing far less on the power of communism, and far more on the gods of consummerism and materialism that are killing the American church.
Understanding this we will see the emptiness of the “American dream”. In seeing the world for what it is, we will see the world for what it is not. What we purchase does not make us who we are, but is a mirror – it only shows us what we have already become.Here were some practical application points handed out after the message. I thought they were very challenging:
- Buy things for usefulness rather than status
- Reject anything that is producing an addiction in you
- Develop a habit of giving things away
- Enjoy things without owning them (e.g. nature)
- Refuse to be propagandized by new products
- Develop a deeper appreciation for the creation
- Look with the healthy skepticism at “buy now, pay later” scheme
- Obey Jesus’ instructions about plain, honest speech
- Reject anything that breeds the oppression of others
- Shun anything that distracts you from seeking the Kingdom of Heaven first.
Matthew 6:19-2119 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
