You may have seen the television commercial recently: Dad firmly tells the family that they can’t open their Best Buy gifts until they’ve visited Grandma, so they drive to Grandma’s house, but only to slow down the car and wave Merry Christmas before returning home to experience holiday joy, consumer electronics style. Triggered by his concern with this advertisement, Jordan Ballor at the Acton Institute blog briefly explores the question of What’s Wrong with Christmas Consumerism. (HT: The Point)
I agree with Ballor that consumption itself isn’t the problem. The ascetic, of course, will protest. “Asceticism is a way of thinking that sees money and things as evil. To the ascetic, the less you own, the more spiritual you are” (Randy Alcorn, Money, Possessions and Eternity, p.16). As Alcorn says well, Paul’s declaration that “everything God created is good” (1 Timothy 4:4) is the “theological death knell for asceticism. From a biblical perspective, everything is fair game to have and to enjoy, as long as we partake thankfully and prayerfully – unless, of course, what we partake in violates God’s Word” (Alcorn, pp.21-22). John Schneider reaches a similar conclusion in The Good of Affluence: Seeking God in a Culture of Wealth, after a wide-ranging examination of the biblical stories of creation, the exodus, the exile, the life and teachings of Christ, and the early church. Schneider argues that God’s ordered vision for humankind includes, at its core, the “deliberate institution of material prosperity and flourishing as the proper condition for human beings in the world and before God. . . . I call this condition ‘delight,’ and I believe it endures throughout the biblical story as the vision that God has for all human beings” (p.10).
If consumption itself isn’t the problem, what is?
Standing on the shoulders of Augustine, Ballor characterizes the problem as our “disordered and immoderate desires for earthly goods when compared with the truly and ultimately important spiritual goods.”
"Speaking of material goods, Augustine writes, 'Sin gains entrance through these and similar good things when we turn to them with immoderate desire, since they are the lowest kind of goods and we thereby turn away from the better and higher: from you yourself, O Lord our God, and your truth and your law.' Material goods, just like any other created reality, can be an occasion for sin and idolatry."
Scripture does suggest that moderation is among the marks of a virtuous life (e.g., Proverbs 27:7; 30:8-9), and material goods can be an occasion for sin and idolatry – no doubt about that.
“People become so distracted by the things of this world, so attached to created things, that they devote their energies to attaining, enjoying, preserving and increasing these, leaving themselves little time or inclination to think about God (Rom 1:18-21). Instead of allowing their contentment to lead them to gratitude and the quest to know God, the Giver of good gifts, they in effect make idols out of things and devote themselves to these, to their own hurt (Rom 1:22-32)” (T.M. Moore, Ecclesiastes: Ancient Wisdom When All Else Fails, p.128 note v).
Despite my agreement with these observations, I would not characterize the problem with Christmas consumption as the proliferation of “disordered and immoderate” desires. Saying that we have “disordered” desires does not sufficiently describe the origin and intensity of the problem. Nor does describing those desires as “immoderate” directly point us toward what seems to be the right response – rejoicing and thanksgiving, rather than moderation.
Modern Christmas consumption is not merely “disordered” but seriously disconnected from reality, the fundamental reality that Jesus Christ is the creator, sustainer, ruler, judge and redeemer of everything. Everything we have comes from and belongs to Him. See 1 Chronicles 29:14 (“Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand”); Job 41:11 (“Everything under heaven is mine”). We can give – to others and to ourselves – gifts of any kind, material or otherwise, only because God first gave us the necessary intellect (Daniel 2:21) and other abilities (Romans 12:6-8), our work (Ecclesiastes 3:13) and the ability to earn money (Deuteronomy 8:18) – indeed, only because He first gave us life (Acts 17:25). As a consequence, do our lives, and everything else we possess, not belong to Him? Cf. Psalm 100:3 (“It is he who made us, and we are his”).
As I reflect on these truths, my inclination frankly is not to “moderate” or stifle my desires for the things of this world. I am not tempted to allow asceticism to creep back into my understanding of God’s plan for creation. On the contrary, my inclination is to rejoice in God’s good gifts and to thank Him fervently for His provision and wondrous grace. I am led to seek Him and His will for the good gifts with which He has seen fit to bless us. I am also reminded that we can fully enjoy these good gifts only by practicing generosity and sacrifice. See, e.g., Acts 20:35 (“the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’”); 1 Timothy 6:18 (“be generous and willing to share”); 1 Peter 4:10 (“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms”); 2 Corinthians 8:1-9, 9:11 (“You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion”); Hebrews 13:16 (“And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased”).
With these truths shining brightly in our hearts, I hope and trust that our actions and attitudes would go beyond Ballor’s suggested “Augustinian solution to the problem in that Best Buy ad”: to “enjoy[ ] each other’s company and the material goods associated with the holiday.” I hope and trust that the fellowship and exchange of gifts would point us toward reflection and remembrance of Who made possible such delights, and to take yet another step in the direction of knowing Him.
