We consume way too much in today’s society. But what do we do about it?
It’s funny how my mind starts to wander sometimes. I was reading the blogs in my feed reader yesterday, when I came across this post at My Two Dollars. David highlights a video on consumerism in today’s society. (You can watch the whole video here).
Now I don’t agree with everything in the movie, by any means. But when the narrator got to the part about consumption, I was completely on board. As a society, we do consume a lot. Too much. We waste an awful lot.
While everyone who agrees that over-consumption is a problem has their own ideas on how to fix it, the important thing is that we agree there’s a problem.
I don’t claim to have all the answers, but watching that movie caused me to start asking a lot of questions.
What does God think about the amount of consumption and waste that goes on in our society?
I think I know the answer to that one. When Jesus fed the multitudes, he instructed his disciples to gather the extra food, so nothing was wasted. When God provided manna in the desert for the Israelites, He instructed them to gather only what they needed for that day.
There are other examples in scripture, but it seems the underlying message is that we shouldn’t waste. We shouldn’t waste our time, our abilities, or even our stuff. We are instructed to be good stewards of what the Lord has given us: not gluttonous, not stingy, but using what we need. That brought me to my next question
Why do we consume so much?
I think a lot of what we consume is products that are supposed to make our lives easier. There are vacuums that do all the work for you; disposable dust cloths, so you don’t have to spray and launder your own; pre-made baby food in little jars, so you don’t have to steam and puree food for your baby.
But why do we feel the need to make our lives easier, and is it the right thing to do?
I think that’s a two-fold answer. First of all, I think a lot of times we are overworked. At this point in time, many families need to incomes to survive. They truly need both incomes, because things are so expensive.
People work hard at their jobs – sometimes 50-60 hours a week. There just isn’t time to do a lot of family and leisure activities, so we turn to gadgets and consumables to make our lives easier.
I’ve been reading Your Money or Your Life (and I’m almost finished…I promise!), and I agree with some of the premises in that book. We trade our lives for our paychecks, and sometimes it’s not a good trade. Our jobs suck more out of us than our paychecks can replenish. And something needs to change. I won’t get into that here, because I could probably write a book on that. Actually, the book has already been written. :)
I think the second problem is that we have become a society that glorifies leisure. I know that’s the polar opposite of what I just wrote, but hear me out. We spend so much time at the drudgery of our jobs, that we embrace the thought of full time leisure someday.
People dream of retiring by 40 so they can relax on the beach and travel the world. There’s nothing wrong with either the beach or traveling, but I don’t think we were made for full time leisure.
In Genesis 2:15, the Bible says
The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
He put the man in the garden to work it. We were made for work. In past times work was a necessity. Men worked the fields, planted the crops, and tended the cattle. Women made the bread, scrubbed the laundry by hand, and sewed clothes for their families. The Proverbs 31 woman was definitely not a woman of leisure!
I’m not suggesting that we toss the washing machines and go back to hand washing our clothes, but I am suggesting that a life of total leisure isn’t what we were made for.
I think there needs to be a balance. We need to work. We need to provide for our families. We need to work alongside the rest of our families, spending more time together. And we need to stop wasting our resources.
What is the right answer? I’m not sure. But something needs to change. I don’t think we can sustain this pace forever. For now, I’m going to focus on changing my own life. I’m simplifying Downsizing. Recycling. Consuming less. Care to join me?
Is consumerism a problem? What’s the best way to fix it? How do you reconcile your spending and consuming habits with your faith? Or are they totally separate? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Photo by tinou bao.
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I certainly doubt that I’ll ever retire, which I think is good. Even if we have enough money, I’d have to have some kind of employment. It seems that when retirees don’t have projects and plans and such, they just fade away.
One set of Micah’s grandparents have become archaeologists now and travel around the country to spend a month or two at a dig. Then they’ll rest or visit their kids and then it’s off to another dig. They’re very happy about that.
This is a wonderful post and I wholeheartedly agree! In college I spent a week volunteering with Habitat for Humanity with a group of people who call themselves “Care-a-vanners”. They mostly consisted of people who sold off their homes and belongings, live out of their RVs, and travel the country to do volunteer projects. I think this sounds like an awesome way to spend “retirement”.
In terms of lowering consumption, I have a relatively pessimistic view. I really think the only way this will happen is a very huge, probably catastrophic event. Humans never really seem to care about something until it directly affects themselves, so until that happens, we’re going to keep living this lifestyle we’ve come to see as normal.
I think there needs to be a balance, too. If you’re able to retire by 40, that’s probably because you have a skill at saving or earning money, a talent that afforded you wealth, or some other asset such as an inheritance. In all those cases, I’d think that the average American wouldn’t be so selfish as to do nothing but pursue leisure and recreation all day. In fact, because of their resources, you’d hope they’d want to involve themselves in charity or volunteer–at a minimum. My husband and I co-own an IT consulting business. Yes, it has its challenges–boy does it! But, we both agree that we enjoy working for ourselves and when we reach “retirement” age, we’re not sure we’d want to retire. We enjoy working. We’re providing jobs, contributing to the local community, and sustaining the economy. We both volunteer and contribute where we can now. So, in the end, each person needs to make their own decision but why hold talents from the world if you retire early?
@Christa – I don’t have a problem with retiring early, but like you, I believe that we need to continue to contribute to society. I’d love to spend my time volunteering.
“So, in the end, each person needs to make their own decision but why hold talents from the world if you retire early?”
Very well put.
This is a great post, Lynnae!
No, God doesn’t want us to waste our resources, talents, or blessings. We are given this earth, our bodies, our talents to use for God’s glory, not to waste or use selfishly.
I think that’s the main point, to use what we have (whether a lot or very little) and what we are for God’s glory. I believe consumerism becomes a problem when we waste those talents and resources and use them selfishly.
How to fix the problem? I think that’s on an individual basis. The individual has to make the decision to change and use his or her resources wisely, to be those good and faithful servants who have done well. :)
I, too, am certain that I’ll never completely retire. I will always be working at something, probably freelancing, but whatever it is it’ll be something that will be rejuvenating to my spirit. I don’t think I would do well if I were idle. Not that I’ve done so well up to now but at least I’ve always worked. As for consumption, it is very very true that we are a wasteful society. Evidence of that is everywhere. Especially in my garage. I have wasted thousands of dollars on stuff I don’t need.
I think it is amazing how we as a society think nothing of spending so much on the things that are trivial.
I think that a life of total leisure would be boring after a while. I’d probably get out of the habit of getting up.
Of course compared to our forebears in the Industrial Revolution, we do live a life of leisure. Compared the pre-industrials, we can have the same work life balance, but we don’t have to live hand to mouth, we can use less physical labour and have longer life expectancies.
Not many people ever do live a life of leisure – most retirees in good health have a very filled life. Living in poor health isn’t exactly what I’d describe as a life of leisure no matter what you actually do.
Great article, and great points. I think that God wants us to be hard working, and to be wise stewards of the earth and all we have been given.. Here’s another pertinent verse:
No matter how much you want, laziness won’t help a bit, but hard work will reward you with more than enough. Proverbs 13:4
Thanks for the great article – i’ll be posting a link in my favorite articles roundup shortly.
Wow, great post!
I think one of the reasons we are so overworked and tired is because the *nature* of our work has changed. Getting out and working in the fields all day is physically but not emotionally exhausting. Hard work is cleansing. I’ve heard about a program that (somewhere, can’t remember!) puts mentally ill prisoners in the garden and they’re noticing improvement in their condition, which makes total sense to me.
But today we have emotional exhaustion due to fighting traffic, dealing with idiots at work, schlepping the kids around to multiple events, etc.
I’ve fought against that dynamic in my own life. I’m a work at home homeschooling mom who tries NOT to get out much. LOL! I think this change in the nature of work is what makes people want to go out and spend on gadgets.
But hey – don’t knock the automatic vacuum, I’m saving for one. LOL!