The most powerful ad our children will ever see…

It was there at the kitchen counter, debating LEGO sets and mosquito nets, when the reality struck me: I am the most powerful ad my children will ever see.

He had wanted to compile a wish list. But obscene price tags had frustrated his plans, and I could see his anxiety mount as we tried, again and again, to find a LEGO set for under $50.  The brightness in his eyes dulled, eyebrows furrowed, his voice tight in frustration.

Finally, I drew the line.“We’re all done, Sweetie. This isn’t good; it’s making you upset and frustrated.”

“But I want to look!”  He argued, jumping down from the stool.

“Looking at all of these things is making your heart greedy, and not content with what you have, and not grateful.  You’re not happy…”

I thought for a moment, then lowered down on my knees, leveling my eyes with his. “Dutch, do you see me sitting on my computer and looking at things I want?”

He thought about this. “No.”

“No. Do you know why? Because when I start to sit on my computer and look at all the things I like but don’t have, it does the same thing to me. It makes my heart greedy, and then I’m not content with what I have, and then I’m not grateful.  And then … I’m not happy.”

He was quiet. Slowly, his face changed.

I reached out my arms and he stepped in, leaning close into my hug. He looked up at me and smiled,

“I’m going to go play.”

And with that, he was gone, lost in the priceless world of imagination. 

~

So why am I making such a big deal about consumerism? What exactly is consumerism, anyway? Consumerism is the social and economic order that encourages the purchase of goods and services  in every-increasing amounts.

I recently watched a video where the regional VP of a well-known cosmetic company laughingly says,

“The great thing about this product is that it’s consumable. Every single morning, all those women wash all that product off their faces and right down the drain! We love that! We love thinking about that! It makes us so happy thinking about that! That means they keep coming back for more.”

Now, please understand: Not here throwing stones at cosmetic companies. I’m one of those women washing product off my face and down the drain! I consume coffee, mascara, and plenty of other non-essential items.

In fact, God created us as consumers. We consume oxygen, water, and food, in order to survive. In fact, He makes us consumers because He wants to be the Sustainer, the Provider. He created us to be dependent on Him, for our breath, for our life.

But the enemy loves to take good and tweak it. Pervert it. Warp it. He loves to take our very legitimate need to consume a few things, and twist it to make us obsessed:

We become consumed with consuming.

And so instead of being dependent on God, we are dependent on Amazon. Or Nordstrom. Or Groupon. Or Target. We dream about what we do not need, and consume more and more and more and more …

And they —our littles–are watching. They watch us more than any ads on TV. We may lament about the world “out there” but the culture is us. We are the culture! As Mark Twain said,

“The Public is merely a multiplied me.”

So, the question for us: What am I multiplying? Ken Wytsma writes,

“Wherever we are, and whatever we are doing, our lives are being broadcast. … All of us are exporting certain cultural values and assumptions, projecting them out into our neighborhoods, our country, and even distant parts of the world. … The question to ask ourselves, then, is, what is my life exporting?” (Pursuing Justice)

Nowhere is this more true than in our homes. Every day we advertise a certain life for our kids. Again, not boycotting iphones and eye-cream, just encouraging us all to live life wide awake, alert to the constant temptation to live as consumers instead of answering the call of Christ.

The call of His cross, and to the fullness of abundant life. Life lost and found.

{Thanks for reading.}