A crucial part of being a disciple of Jesus is the ability to integrate your faith into your life in a meaningful and tangible way. It isn’t enough to simply understand the theory behind your faith – the x’s and o’s of Biblical literacy and historical Christendom. To truly embody the life of a Jesus person is to allow the truth of the Gospel to transform your inner life in such a radical way that it informs your external behaviour. This requires of us a faith that actively interfaces with the culture surrounding us, not one that insulates oneself from it.
One of the defining cultural signposts of the 20th and 21st centuries is an exponential increase in consumerism. While for most of human history we could easily define ourselves by the beliefs we held, the communities we built, and the things that we created, consumerism dictates our cultural identity to be nothing more than a reflection of what we consume. Consumerism may not be the defining characteristic of 21st century culture, but it certainly has the potential to fulfill that role for every individual as it becomes more and more the default position of the cultural marketplace. What it cannot and never will do, however, is provide a meaningful source of meaning and contentment in our lives.
To buy into the promise that any sort of meaningful fulfillment can be found in your next purchase is to hand over your agency to companies and conglomerates that simply want your money. The introduction of marketing and branding into the cultural marketplace has allowed many of us to become vulnerable to this narrative, but at the end of the day this is something that we all recognise inherently (at least on an intellectual level). We all know that we can’t buy our way to happiness or contentment, but we find ourselves seduced by the corporate promise nonetheless.
Paul writes in Philippians that “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” (Philippians 4:11-12) Even in first century Philippi there was a cultural awareness of the fact that contentment and happiness could not come from what they did or didn’t own.
As Christians, here are two responses that we can embody in our interface with consumerism culture.
The first is to practice countercultural generosity. A fruit of consumerism is an inherent selfishness that accompanies a posture of ownership. When you buy things for yourself, one can allow these repeated purchases to begin to amass a false equivalency in correspondence with self value. The more watches I buy, the more impressive I am. Not because of the watch itself, but because I own it. This is completely at odds with what the Gospel teaches about the inherent value and worth of every image bearer. An antidote to this is to find value in the opposite – how much we are able to give away to the benefit of those around us. Matthew 25 paints a picture of Jesus as somebody who definitely takes our generosity and our servant heartedness very seriously.
The second is the ability to say no to the endless waves of “more”. Consumerism asks us to buy into the lie that growth and acquisition is a game that has no end; if you can imagine it, you can acquire it and even more. More stuff, more crap we don’t need, more products that we simply must have to stay up to date with culture, more more more. The Christian faith is built on the belief in an incarnational saviour who provides more than enough for life to the fullest. You don’t need the new iPhone to be able to experience that, despite how insistently one of the biggest companies in the world would attempt to convince you otherwise. But the Gospel is also a story that informs us of the inherent worth and value that is held by the human individual – worth in our ability to reflect the image of the Creator, not in our ability to spend money. This informs us of a need to hold consumerism at arm’s length when it comes to our identity in Christ.
None of this is to say that belongings and assets cannot add value to our lives or the lives of those around us. But the life of a follower of Christ dictates that consumerism cannot be an integrated part of discipleship. Real value and worth cannot be found in our ability to consume and devour, but rather our ability to reflect the image of God to those around us and experience life to the fullest along the way.
Jonty writes about film, narrative and culture on his Substack, “Postcards from the Abyss”.
