“The Consumer Driven Life” Is Enough Ever Enough? When you consider our “global mall” mentality and our consumer driven society, enough never seems to be enough. And now that many malls are going the way of the corner market, the comfort and convenience of shopping to your hearts content from the internet device without even moving off your couch, makes it even easier! I just returned fromanother trip to the States I was once again staggered by the sheer worldliness, all-pervasive materialism and the rampant, “in your face” consumerism everywhere you turned. Living in a small European country can do that. Everything is bigger in America: The country, the mega-malls, the supermarkets, consumer warehouses, the incredible variety of consumer options, the cars, the houses, the meal portions and, as a direct result, many of its consumers. What variety! What abundance! What excess! America has turned materialism and consumerism into a lifestyle. “Shop till ya drop” seems to be today’s national anthem.” “Oh, say can you see where the nearest Wallmart Superstore, Costco or ‘Mall of America’ is?” America is the “Promise Land” of unimaginable wealth, abundance and consumption to much of the world. Don’t get me wrong, Europe is materialistic also, but it’s in the little leagues compared to the U.S. Yet, with all of our abundance and insatiable lust for more, we never seem to get enough. We never seem to be satisfied or satiated. As the scriptures affirm; “Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.” (Proverbs 27:20) “He who loves silver (money) will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance with increase.” (Ecclesiastes 5:10) It is not just the world that has followed the pied-pipers of materialism. The church does it too. Make no mistake about it. The drive to live the “good life” is just as alive in the church as it is in the world. “Supposing that gain is godliness” is openly promoted in churches across the land and is unconsciously embraced in the lifestyles of many others who do not even believe in the prosperity teachings or the materialistic ethic. We live in a super-saturated age of prosperity and plenty. Its lure pulls all of us. The church has reached a stage in church history where we have become the church of Laodicea whose testimony was; “I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing.” (Revelation 3:17) Having too little is not our problem; It’s craving too much and often having too much to the detriment of our souls. The overwhelming majority of Americans are clueless to just how seductive and corrosive this “consumer driven” mentality is. This is one of the primary reasons why “Godliness with Contentment” is so elusive - not because we can’t find it but because we are not even looking for it or we’re looking in all the wrong places. Achieving the “American Dream” won’t give it to you. The world will never be enough - even if you gain it all. This world’s sufficiency is insufficiency. Only Christ sufficiency is all sufficiency. The love of this world, the love of pleasure and the love of money will always be the proverbial carrot in front of the donkey. If your chasing it you’re on a treadmill going nowhere. Where is our “enough? There is only one place that I know. ” Our “Enough” can only be found in Him. We are reminded that; “Our sufficiency is from God”. His grace “is sufficient for you.” (II Corinthians 3:5 & 12:9) Its that simple. If everything else was stripped away, His grace would still be sufficient. When all is said and done, our sufficiency can never come from our wife, our kids, our career, our portfolio, our “stuff”, our lovely home our local mall, or our “15 minutes of fame”. We are in the world, but should never take the mark of this world. The world will never be our source of strength or sustenance. He “will supply ALL YOUR NEED according to His riches in Glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) “God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” (II Corinthians 9:8)
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 04:58:10 +0000
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