Consuming Christ
We live in a consumeristic society. We hoard, we waste, we devour, and we move on to the next thing. It never ends. If we want something we kick, scream, bite, and throw a tantrum to get it. It’s the adults not just the children. Maybe it is manifested a little more sophisticated than the two-year-old but it is childish nonetheless. What is worse than a self-absorbed two-year-old is the self-absorbed twenty-two year old or fifty-two year old.
How is this entitlement mentality broken? Do we have to move out of our society to change? Is capitalism the problem? Shame on us for blaming the government or parents or anyone! We are the problem. No matter where we go our heart is still with us. You can take the American out of America, but it is difficult to take America out of the American. There is so much about my country that I love, but the “kill to get what you want” attitude has got to stop. And we must search deep within before we admit the infection is not inside us or that it is others who are the ones that really need to change.
The way to break the consumer disease is to realize that we are not consuming enough or the right thing. You may say, huh? Wait a second; I thought consuming was the problem! Nope. We are the problem. The solution lies in the fact that we are consuming everything and anything that never fully satisfies and doesn’t change our heart to turn us outward. We hoard and therefore continually turn inward. It is like the snowball effect. We get older, but we may not be maturing in the others-centered department. Wouldn’t that be nice to find in a department store or online, “I’d like to purchase some altruism sauce please!”
This is exactly why we need to consume more of Christ. He is the most others-centered Individual in the universe. We were made to feast on Him, relate to Him, and be utterly dependent on Him (John 15:5). It is because we are feasting on far fewer things that we are not satisfied. It is because we are relating to other broken individuals that we feel empty. It is because we are independent that life can seem out of control. We are not gorging ourselves on the One that never leaves us empty and always turns us to focus on the needs of others.
He has the power to break the spell. We don’t have to move away and if we do our hearts still go with us often unchanged by the new environment. He is everything we need. He readjusts our wants to be outward focused. If you struggle with consumerism, whether of people or stuff or new technology, it’s never going to be enough…until you turn to Him. There is nothing on this earth that can fulfill the deepest longing of our souls. That will only come from the One that fashioned and designed us in the first place. The City of Refuge community values consuming Christ. It is where we place our hope and center our lives. Want to know more?