I wanted to write something about Black Friday, but as I sit here and think, only questions come to mind. I am myself absorbed in the consumerism culture, not detached as I would hope I could be. Even through I won't shop today, I will shop other days and I will still continue to benefit from others' cheap labors.
As a person studying for living a life in ministry, often I feel the need to have the answers, to have it all figured out. But most of the time I stumble my way through, trusting on God to lead me. I am not divine, instead I am a human who makes errors every day, who is just trying to be faithful to a leading despite my shortcomings.
Sometimes I feel that all I have to offer others are the questions that I struggle with.
So... Here are the questions I am struggling with today:
Why do I celebrate Jesus' birthday while bowing down to another god, Consumerism?
Why do I benefit off of other people's cheap labor, when I wouldn't work for that same wage or under similar conditions?
Why do I find it easier to say my feelings through material gifts, instead of words?
How can I balance my desire for a stable life with my desire to stand in solidarity with others, who are abused by a system that favors cheap goods over their lives?
How can I live more deeply into these questions and not look for immediate, feel-good answers?
What questions are you struggling with today?
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Friday, November 23, 2012
Friday, November 25, 2011
My Problem with Christmas Shopping: Losing Sight of Jesus' Message
A re-post of a blog post (with slight edits) from last year from my old blog: http://amusingsaboutlife.blogspot.com/2010/11/my-problem-with-christmas-losing-sight.html
I will be honest I have a problem with Christmas shopping. A major problem!
I started thinking about this when I was driving through Ohio last week and flipping through the radio channels. I happened upon an Christian radio station hosting a talk program. The topic being discussed was the so-called "War on Christmas". One of the people suggested that Christians should walk around giving out items saying "Merry Christmas" while they shop this Christmas season to win "the war".
Here is my problem with Christmas shopping: It reflects values more of consumerism than of Christ, which is the bigger than whether or not one can say Christmas in a public space. (I will not call it a war.)
In two days, 138 million Americans will set out to shop on so-called Black Friday in search of Christmas (or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa) gifts for loved ones. They will wait in line to buy stuff, that was probably made in the third-world by someone working for a fraction of the wage that would be paid in the US. A person might even be trampled to death again, like what happened a couple years ago, in the panic to buy the perfect gift at a super low price. I used to believe in this tradition of buying gifts for Christmas, but after working in areas of extreme poverty over the years, buying stuff has slowly lost its appeal to me. Then a couple years ago my immediate family decided to play games and do activities as a family, instead of giving each other gifts, on Christmas Day.
So, now with this new family tradition, I do not give consumerist gifts on Christmas. Because how does this whole commercial-frenzy honor Jesus' ministry? How does giving a big screen TV convey God's love for the world that God gave God's only Son? I still believe in gift-giving and I love to give and receive gifts, but this practice does not just revolve around Christmas for me anymore.
In Quakerism, there is a belief that every day is holy. Sadly this belief is losing traction among Friends. About ten years ago, I read somewhere that Olney Friends School in Barnesville, Ohio, didn't start giving their students a Christmas break until around 1930. At the time, as a high school student on Winter break from a public school, I thought that idea of having no Christmas break was ridiculous (I loved my breaks from school), but now I see the logic of upholding this important principle. Every day is another chance to live into Jesus' message to love and care for each other, especially the least among us, in God's name.
Jesus advocated a different way of life, of following him down a difficult path. In Matthew 19:21, He said, "If you want to be perfect, sell what you own. Give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then follow me!" He didn't say: "OK, go buy a lot of stuff in my honor once a year. Oh yeah, drop your leftover change in the Salvation Army can on your way out of the store and feel good about yourself." I am not advocating for perfection or saying I am perfect, but instead I want to advocate being more conscience about the true meaning of Christmas and honoring Jesus' message, in the midst of the Christmas shopping season. If people buy gifts, please try to buy from sources that uphold God's creation and workers' rights and dignity, for they are children of God too.
On Black Friday this year (2011) I am spending the day with my girlfriend, Jenn, and other friends, instead of shopping. In a month we will visit our families and give gifts that we made, instead of buying gifts.
I will be honest I have a problem with Christmas shopping. A major problem!
I started thinking about this when I was driving through Ohio last week and flipping through the radio channels. I happened upon an Christian radio station hosting a talk program. The topic being discussed was the so-called "War on Christmas". One of the people suggested that Christians should walk around giving out items saying "Merry Christmas" while they shop this Christmas season to win "the war".
Here is my problem with Christmas shopping: It reflects values more of consumerism than of Christ, which is the bigger than whether or not one can say Christmas in a public space. (I will not call it a war.)
In two days, 138 million Americans will set out to shop on so-called Black Friday in search of Christmas (or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa) gifts for loved ones. They will wait in line to buy stuff, that was probably made in the third-world by someone working for a fraction of the wage that would be paid in the US. A person might even be trampled to death again, like what happened a couple years ago, in the panic to buy the perfect gift at a super low price. I used to believe in this tradition of buying gifts for Christmas, but after working in areas of extreme poverty over the years, buying stuff has slowly lost its appeal to me. Then a couple years ago my immediate family decided to play games and do activities as a family, instead of giving each other gifts, on Christmas Day.
So, now with this new family tradition, I do not give consumerist gifts on Christmas. Because how does this whole commercial-frenzy honor Jesus' ministry? How does giving a big screen TV convey God's love for the world that God gave God's only Son? I still believe in gift-giving and I love to give and receive gifts, but this practice does not just revolve around Christmas for me anymore.
In Quakerism, there is a belief that every day is holy. Sadly this belief is losing traction among Friends. About ten years ago, I read somewhere that Olney Friends School in Barnesville, Ohio, didn't start giving their students a Christmas break until around 1930. At the time, as a high school student on Winter break from a public school, I thought that idea of having no Christmas break was ridiculous (I loved my breaks from school), but now I see the logic of upholding this important principle. Every day is another chance to live into Jesus' message to love and care for each other, especially the least among us, in God's name.
Jesus advocated a different way of life, of following him down a difficult path. In Matthew 19:21, He said, "If you want to be perfect, sell what you own. Give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then follow me!" He didn't say: "OK, go buy a lot of stuff in my honor once a year. Oh yeah, drop your leftover change in the Salvation Army can on your way out of the store and feel good about yourself." I am not advocating for perfection or saying I am perfect, but instead I want to advocate being more conscience about the true meaning of Christmas and honoring Jesus' message, in the midst of the Christmas shopping season. If people buy gifts, please try to buy from sources that uphold God's creation and workers' rights and dignity, for they are children of God too.
On Black Friday this year (2011) I am spending the day with my girlfriend, Jenn, and other friends, instead of shopping. In a month we will visit our families and give gifts that we made, instead of buying gifts.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)