I realize at Christmas time we hear alot about not consuming so much and not getting sucked into the commercialism of the season. Yet, at the same time we enjoy buying gifts for those we love as well as receiving a gift. Consequently, we feel guilty if we even seem like we are enjoying ourselves at Christmas time. It seems that there could be a way in which we could enjoy the season, be responsible consumers, and be thankful for those that have given of their time to make or produce the products we will buy. For that reason, I am including this post that I first received from Sojourners. It is written by Rachel Hope Anderson who is the Executive Director of the Boston Faith and Justice Network. Here is what she has to say:
“Consumption” isn’t a bad word. Even as we watch the excesses of the consumer economy crumble and collapse around us, we should remember that the word “consume” also means “to eat.”
On Thursday, many of us consumed to excess as eaters; today, on “Black Friday,” many of us also consume to excess as shoppers. But as Eugene Cho pointed out so thoughtfully last week, buying stuff at low prices isn’t by itself a mark of shame or weakness. It is, in our post-agrarian, post-industrial society, a necessity. The issue isn’t whether we buy or not buy things. It is whether we do so with appreciation for all of God’s creation.
Before we eat, we say a prayer to acknowledge our gratitude for God’s bounty. Through prayer, we express both humility and appreciation. If we pray mindfully (rather than out of rote habit), we simultaneously acknowledge our joy at what we have while also feeling compassion for those who have not.
What if we said a prayer each time we bought something –- each time we “consumed”?
For most of our history, getting enough to eat has been our primary preoccupation. Praying before we ate ensured a direct connection between our livelihoods and God. But for those of us lucky enough to live in a modern, developed nation, the idea of “putting food on the table” has become more figurative than literal. Praying before a meal no longer carries the weight it once did.
A gratitude economy involves, I think, a more spiritually conscious consumerism. It is no better to wallow in guilt about our need to buy things than to flaunt our ability to buy while considering ourselves specially blessed. It will not advance global justice to focus simply on what not to buy; rather we also have the responsibility to buy the right things –- for ourselves and for our brothers and sisters worldwide.
As we go about our shopping or no-shopping in the next days, why not say a prayer dedicating the buying and giving and receiving and yes -– our stuff — to God?
May the food we eat feed those who farmed it. May the things we buy support those who fashioned and shipped and sold them. For everything we enjoy from your good earth, God, thank you.
And if the purchase doesn’t sit right with the prayer –- well, maybe that’s a sign to put it back on the shelf."
I espeically like her prayer that reminds us that someone had to grow the food we eat and someone had to make and ship the stuff we use. Her prayer also is a good reminder that it's okay to enjoy material things as long as we keep them in perspective and do with a sense of humility, stewardship, and gratitude.
Blessings,
Scott
