Delving into my notes and quotes about "Living light" (or living simply) I came across this quotation from Erich Fromm in a book called "The art of Loving". Fromm was an American psychoanalyst. I think he is so right in this description of how we often are in today's western society. He writes....
"Having fun lies in the satisfaction of consuming and 'taking in' commodities, sights, food, drinks, cigarettes, people, lectures, books, movies- are all consumed, swallowed. The world is one great object for our appetite, a big apple, a big bottle, a big breast; we are the sucklers, the eternally expectant ones, the hopeful ones - and the eternally disappointed ones. Our character is geared to exchange and to receive, to barter and consume; everything, spiritual as well as material objects, become an object of exchange and of consumption."
As a minister who gets trapped into trying to please various people's tastes in worship I have often been frustrated at how this consumerism in our attitudes impacts even our church going. It impacts on how we relate in families, in our work and in our friendships. They too become places where "barter, consumption and exchange" attitudes cause us to treat each other as "objects".
The other difficulty for someone like me who is trying to communicate the way of Jesus in this sort of society is that His "way" is virtually directly the opposite of these common cultural values and attitudes. I am (stupidly) trying to call people to follow one who said such things as;
"If you love only the people who love you, why should you receive a blessing? Even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good to those who do good to you, why should you receive a blessing? Even sinners do that! And if you lend only to those from whom you hope to get it back, why should you receive a blessing? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount! No! Love your enemies and do good to them; lend and expect nothing back. You will then be children of the most high God. For he is good to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful just as your Father is merciful."
We could quote many other texts that say similar things. Jesus is the one who told one rich man to sell what he had and give to the poor. Jesus himself lived a giving lifestyle, with generous attitudes, (too generous for his enemies liking) which led to conflict and death. He gave his all and called us to a self-giving lifestyle. These ideals and the life of Jesus challenge the very values at the heart of our society. It is so hard to swim against the tide. Historically the church has found this difficult. We have changed the religion to make it focus on the reward of heaven. We have altered its emphasis from lifestyle to belief, doctrines and such. Or we have turned our churches into a commodity that we market. By doing these things we have been shaped by the world around us rather than the Spirit of Jesus. It seems the pragmatic thing to do and we slide into the ways our culture. It is hard too for we who try to communicate this emphasis, because we too have been shaped by our culture and find it too easy to go with the flow, rather than challenge these deeply entrenched values. Jesus in his teaching makes it plain that the God he calls us to follow, the ultimate spirit or movement at the heart of the universe is ridiculously, lovingly generous! If we are in tune with that life force we'll catch the same "gene".
The positive point that Jesus himself struggled to communicate is that ultimately these consumerism values bring wasted living, emptiness and destruction to our life and relationships and do not bring fulfillment and wholeness. They are unhealthy. In Fromm's terms we will be "eternally disappointed". He was no kill joy, he just wanted us to experience a fullness and depth in our living. He invited us to a way of life that is free from the downward pull of such attitudes.
My final comment is that I have sat at the death bed of a number of people. The ones I find who are able to die peacefully are those who have invested themselves in love and in people. Those who have prized material goods and consumerism, have a deep emptiness because "they can't take it with them".
2 comments:
The consumer culture you condemn is what brought Fromm’s ideas to you in the form of a book and enables you to read it in comfort.
Everyone in the West who condemns our culture and criticises our people are themselves consumers who take full advantage of the “system” while attacking it.
There is a lot to admire about Fromm (same as with you); but, like you, he drew a salary and enjoyed all the comforts, intellectual/artistic stimulation, and protection of my culture. Who provides these things for you? Other people, who also need things.
No matter how much people talk, I have never seen another Jesus coming along the road.
Anthony
It is the "excess" that I am critical of and more than that the attitude that makes "to consume" a goal in life. I will go on to spell out how the way we live is costing us, the environment and others too much. The imbalance between rich and poor in NZ but mainly globaly causes a cost. Our lifestyle too also is overloading the planet and often overloading family and personal life. Thanks for your comment.
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