Overcoming Cultural Strongholds – Part 1: Consumerism

25Sep08

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms – Ephesians 6:2

I am going to post a series on the spiritual battle we face everyday in our minds, focusing on Western cultural strongholds that can easily infiltrate our thinking and therefore our lives. I think too often we are caught up in whether we are doing the right things, or refraining from doing the wrong things – but what about our thinking? None of our friends see what goes on inside our heads which unfortunately means it may not be our no 1 priority to sort it out.

The spiritual battle we are automatically involved in if we are a child of God takes place primarily in our minds so it should be one of our key concerns to shield our minds from evil and overcome ungodly ways of thinking. Ungodly ways of thinking constrain us – this is the devil’s stronghold, his control over us. It is a subtle and discreet way of keeping us in bondage. Only when we change our thinking and see things from God’s perspective can we really start to live life to the full, and to the glory of our God and Saviour. 

 

[Jesus said:] I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. – John 10:10

 

Consumerism

 

 

In our culture safety and security is held up to be of paramount importance. And in the Western world safety and security goes way beyond keeping ourselves secure physically. Great significance is placed on emotional security, we have to feel secure with who we are, where we are in life etc. Society tells us we can buy this safety and security with money. Adverts promise that buying their products will make us feel good, give us some sense of satisfaction. And because it’s the way we’ve been conditioned, often buying these products does make us feel good, even if it’s a shallow and short-lived feeling. That in itself is a sign that material things are becoming (or are) our god, our idol. If owning things provides us with happiness and our sense of security is bound up in how much money we have in the bank then it is clear that money/material goods are of great importance to us. Life in our culture can easily become a never-ending cycle of wanting things, working to get things, and then working to get more things. Even those who do not know God often recognise how futile this way of life is. There is nothing the world can offer us. The world can not give us lasting security or satisfaction. 

Another problem with consumerism is that our culture has bred inherently selfish individuals. Whenever we do something we expect to get something from it, even if it is a seemingly selfless action. For example we may voulenteer for a charity, but that may be our means of feeling good about ourselves, or we may use to create a certain image of ourselves to those around us. If we don’t get anything out of an activity we are pursuing it is likely we will soon abandon it. Because life is about satisfying our needs and pleasures, consuming all that is on offer to fulfil ourselves. 

This selfishness that comes so easily and is largely accepted as a normal attitude in society today starts to infiltrate the church and our relationship with God. One time I went to a Christian conference and at the end I was handed a feedback sheet. One of the questions was something along the lines of: ‘How would you rate the worship here on a scale of 1 to 5?’. It is not uncommon for someone to remark after a church service,  ’Well I didn’t get much out of the worship today’. Worship is about giving not getting. But often we approach worship wanting to get something from God – maybe a sense of closeness we have been lacking, or whatever. Often the only time we turn to God in prayer through the day is when we need something – we approach God to meet our needs. We are consumerists, even when it comes to our relationship with our Creator. Ultimately, we want God to make us feel good, and rescue us when we need rescuing. The slot machine God. 

Consumerism leads us to look elsewhere for our comfort and satisfaction, and to approach God with a wrong attitude. So how can we escape from this cultural stronghold?  Well for a start we can focus on God’s amazing promises instead of looking for what the world has to offer us (which is nothing); be saturated with his word rather than the world’s empty promises. God has blessed us with so many gifts and he will give us all we need. We have all the safety and security we need in him. And that includes things such as physical and financial security, so long as we are prudent.* God has a plan for each of us, we are his children and he knows and will provide for our every need. Why would we ever turn to the world for some short-term happiness when we can freely ask a loving God for whatever we need? :D

Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. – Hebrews 3:1

 

* This is quite obvious but to avoid any confusion: I am not saying if you are a Christian you won’t have financial difficulties or that you’ll never get mugged or you’ll never get physically sick – just that we don’t need to fear these things, or worry excessively if they happen because God is still in control, guiding our lives according to his will, and he knows what is best for us.

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Tags: advertising, comfort, consumerism, cultural strongholds, culture, media, money, safety, satisfaction, security, shopping, society, ungodly thinking, worldliness, worship