To consume - or to be consumed...

I just finished reading Jen Hatmaker’s book “7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess,” and it has really messed with me (to use one of Jen’s favorite expressions). In the book, Jen explores ways to curb the excess that is so prevalent in our middle-class American lives. The issues that she addresses in the book are front and center for me and my family as well. And, the thing that concerns me more than anything else is how our excessive lifestyles are impacting our children and ultimately impacting the world as they grow up to become the next generation of leaders.

If there was one high level take away for me, it’s that we in America are a consumer-driven society. And, unfortunately, my family falls squarely into that category. Jen did an exercise to see how many unique places that she spent money in a single month, so I decided to do the same thing. While it varies from month to month, it averages around 50 places (and that doesn’t include recurring bill payments). We spend little bits of money in lots of places – every day – for all kinds of things. When things break, we usually just replace them rather than fix them. We justify this behavior by pointing out that it costs almost as much to fix it as to buy a new one, but really, it just signifies how little we value things and how quick we are to just throw them away.

When I think back on my childhood, I know that I wasn’t raised with this consumer mindset. I grew up on a farm outside of a small town. We almost never went out to eat. When we did, it was a huge special occasion. On the weekends, we stayed home and worked – in the house, in the garden, around the farm – or we played with the toys and games that we had at home. I can count on one hand the number of times that we ever went to the movies as a family. We went to the mall maybe two or three times a year – when we needed to shop for new school clothes or buy Christmas presents. If something broke, we fixed it – or made do without it.

Fast forward to my family and my kids – I cook at home a lot, but we still eat out at least once a week. We stop by Chick-fil-a on a pretty regular basis to grab a milkshake on the way home from school. We go to the mall or the bookstore at least once a month – just for fun. We stream movies from Netflix or stop by Redbox almost every weekend. We download “stuff” from iTunes at the click of a button. I’m sitting at Panera enjoying some yummy goodness and free wi-fi even as I type this. Some of this is perpetuated by the incredibly busy lifestyle that we maintain (which will likely be the topic of another blog post), but some of it is just habit. And, the thing is – the consumer “attitude” carries over from our spending to other areas of our lives as well.

Think about how we approach church or school or sports or even work – We come expecting to be fed or entertained – expecting to consume. We’re focused on what we are getting out of the experience – and if we don’t like it, we are tempted to just throw it away and move on to the next place or the next activity or the next opportunity. I know that this is a broad generalization, but it concerns me that we are raising a generation that doesn’t understand what it means to dig in and stick to something and give it 100% of their time and attention – even when they aren’t getting anything out of it for themselves - even when it's hard.

I want to raise my children to be givers first – not consumers. I want them to have soft hearts that can willingly sacrifice a little comfort in order to bring hope and help to someone in need. I want to do a better job of modeling that behavior. I want to be a better steward of what God has given me. I want our family to be salt and light to the world around us. I want our home to be open and ready to receive anyone who needs a place of comfort and refuge. It breaks my heart to realize how selfish and greedy we have become.

Heavenly Father, please forgive us and help us not so much to consume but to be consumed by You…