Consumer

I never took a class in economics. (Most people who know me can tell you it shows!) However, I do know that we are in a holy season with regard to the North American economy - holiday shopping days. And during those days, as a citizen, I am regarded primarily in one crucially important way - I am a consumer.

The economy depends on me. Specifically, it depends on separating me from the money I have available to me, or it depends on me being sufficiently in debt that I willingly am separating myself from my money on a monthly basis, month after month, forever and ever - amen. I have to have a sufficiently high drive to consume goods and services to do my part.

Consumerism defines us in ways that are not limited to the economy. For example, many church experts say that people approach church involvement with a consumer mentality - i.e., "What do I get out of it?"

Here's something interesting...When John the Baptizer was preparing the way for Jesus, Luke the physician recalls that he had stinging words for some of the people who came to him to be baptized in the Jordan River. Specially, John said, "Bear fruit worthy of repentance!" (Luke 3:8.) When asked what that means, John did not tell people to worship more, to read scripture more, or even to pray more, as important as all those are. Instead, he told people who had two cloaks to give the spare one to someone who has none. He told tax-collectors to collect a living wage and what the Romans required, and no more. He told Judean soldiers to stop augmenting their wages by extorting from the citizens. In economic language today, he was telling people to stop defining themselves as consumers, as if life was only about what they could get out of it.

Interesting culture we live in...we use consumerism ("What can I get out of it?) to celebrate the birth of the One who came saying, "I have come to give my life as a ransom for many." Interesting...I'll see you around the next bend in the river, which is getting colder these days!