Think about the message of consumerism ... (go ahead, slow down, pause, think about what we're being told for a minute) Now consider this passage:
"... whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” - Mark 10:42-45
The message of consumerism is how you can be served.
The message of Jesus is how you can serve.
The message of consumerism is about putting yourself first.
The message of Jesus is about putting others first.
The message of consumerism is about acting on your needs.
The message of Jesus is about acting on others' needs.
The message of consumerism is about preserving your life.
The message of Jesus is about giving your life away.
But why is it that we are so quick to put ourselves first ... to think first about our own condition ... to react first to our own needs? Why do we so often do the opposite of what Jesus said?
Because we drank the Kool-Aid. Not that ... the consumerism Kool-Aid. We've bought it ... completely. I mean you, me, us ... the church ... the people ranting about making disciples who are producers and not consumers ... we're self-centered people, and too often it shows up in our actions.
Our commitment to anti-consumerism must show up in the way we serve others in everyday life, in the little things. If you want to make disciples, if you want to plead the cause of the oppressed, if you want to be a voice for the poor ... start by serving the people closest to you, in simple ways, regularly. Wash someone's feet (or perhaps someone's dishes). Give up something you want to give it to someone else (the last bit of milk for the bowl of cereal you already poured). Find ways to put others above yourself, then keep ranting against consumerism.
The message of consumerism is how you can be served.
The message of Jesus is how you can serve.
The message of consumerism is about putting yourself first.
The message of Jesus is about putting others first.
The message of consumerism is about acting on your needs.
The message of Jesus is about acting on others' needs.
The message of consumerism is about preserving your life.
The message of Jesus is about giving your life away.
But why is it that we are so quick to put ourselves first ... to think first about our own condition ... to react first to our own needs? Why do we so often do the opposite of what Jesus said?
Because we drank the Kool-Aid. Not that ... the consumerism Kool-Aid. We've bought it ... completely. I mean you, me, us ... the church ... the people ranting about making disciples who are producers and not consumers ... we're self-centered people, and too often it shows up in our actions.
Our commitment to anti-consumerism must show up in the way we serve others in everyday life, in the little things. If you want to make disciples, if you want to plead the cause of the oppressed, if you want to be a voice for the poor ... start by serving the people closest to you, in simple ways, regularly. Wash someone's feet (or perhaps someone's dishes). Give up something you want to give it to someone else (the last bit of milk for the bowl of cereal you already poured). Find ways to put others above yourself, then keep ranting against consumerism.
