Zella Dowling suggests that Lent provides us with an opportunity to reflect on and rein in our habits of over-consumption.

Consumer societies can be alluring and empowering but the materialism that emerges within them offers a litany to false gods that could rival those of Mount Olympus. Coca-Cola is marketed as the god of youthfulness and vitality. Rolex and Mercedes are the gods of wealth and prosperity. North Face is the god of exploration and innovation.

As New Zealand society is driven more and more by economic forces, our moral and spiritual authority is often left doubting itself. An iconic bumper sticker reads: “The one who dies with the most toys wins.” It’s meant to elicit a chuckle which it does by cleverly exposing our desire for material things as childlike and innocent. A popular phrase now found on everything from tea towels to coffee mugs reads: “Keep Calm and Carry on Shopping”. We laugh at our weakness in succumbing to temptation — again.

Political Ideology Took Us Over

The concept that ever-expanding consumption is advantageous to the economy took hold in America during the 1960s. It could be argued that it took hold in Aotearoa 20 years later with the onslaught of Rogernomics. Since the introduction of that ideology New Zealand politicians spend more time and money courting public opinion on their handling of the economy than on their service to, or shaping of, society. As consumers and voters, we can lend our support, tolerance, and agreement to plans and policies that guarantee the economy will grow at all cost, or we can decide for ourselves if consumption is an advantage or a disadvantage.

Growing the economy is the ideology that spurs people to keep buying stuff. Consumption creates jobs. When retailers and small business owners feel twinges of optimism they hire more staff. Job creation addresses unemployment. Low unemployment gives investors more confidence to invest and somehow all this morphs into a possible lowering of the national debt. 

But an overemphasis on consumption has many disadvantages. In their study Howell & Hill found: “There is considerable evidence that materialism is associated with less happiness and life satisfaction, poorer interpersonal relationships, and higher levels of anxiety and depression.” While we are searching for and gathering "things" we are missing out on life. Looking for the next bargain stops us from seeing the current beauty, the actual need and the living community.

Experiences — Not Stuff

A study on the hidden cost of value-seeking found that people consider experiences rather than things are a better use of money. Experiences create a sense of well-being. Habitual consuming reduces wealth; it doesn’t create it. Constant spending inhibits investment in wealth-producing ventures as a hole in a bucket stops the bucket from holding water.

Real wealth comes from having money in the bank, having money to support your retirement, having money to get yourself out of a jam. The money spent on an impulse buy may have been put toward the utility bill, or school camp, or an unexpected trip to the dentist. Those items may not provide much glamour but they are the events of life. Being prepared for them establishes a feeling of security. Studies show that when people attempt to maximise economic value instead of their happiness they are more likely to consume material items. Defining "value" in solely monetary terms leads people toward consuming. When shopping becomes "the experience" individuals end up with a lot of stuff but they are not guaranteed wealth or happiness.

Shopping Distracts from Living Well

Retail therapy has appeal but its benefits are short lived. It offers no healing of a bruised relationship; nor does it remove the stress from our jobs, or calm the anxiety of our minds. Shopping is a distraction. A lifestyle as a consumer dulls human spirituality. A fulfilling life requires a relationship with our spirit. When our deepest desire is to grow towards God we are more fortunate than if our greatest desire is to own a Lexus RX350. Getting a buzz from a $5 cup of coffee isn’t as beneficial as getting a buzz from laughing with a neighbour.

Advertisers have become very clever at bringing us into their fold. They promise happiness, beauty, popularity, love and youth. They encourage lasting relationships, (termed "brand loyalty"), and they follow us wherever we go. We are constantly being told that we need more. Our grocery trolleys are now equipped with beverage holders that tease us into savouring the shopping experience. It wasn’t so long ago that we sat down to drink a cup of tea as a minor rest period in the day. And it wasn’t uncommon to drink our tea while chatting with a friend or colleague. It’s a subtle change in lifestyle but a substantial change in social behaviour.

Living Attentively 

A possible Lenten reflection could concern our habits of consumption. Being more mindful about what and how we consume would be a rewarding and revealing practice. But there are also other gestures we could make. 

We could monitor the money saved by not making a purchase and either add it to savings or surrender it to a worthy cause. And we could find out if natural resources and human dignity are respected in the manufacturing and marketing of the products we are thinking of purchasing.

Informative Websites

Websites can provide information. For example Better World Shopper claims to be “dedicated to providing people with a comprehensive, up-to-date, reliable account of the social and environmental responsibility of every company on the planet.” 

To reduce, re-use and recycle has become a common phrase and a responsible mindset and Freegan.Info helps educate on ways that we can also research, resist, recognise, repair, redistribute, reclaim and read.

Living Economies Forum is an organization dedicated to “framing ideas that light the path to a New Economy grounded in positive living system principles that recognise life's extraordinary capacity for cooperative self-organization.” Although not a Christian organisation its principles are akin to the teachings of Christ — simple, unique and innovative. We can extend humility, charity and compassion into our economics. We must because so much about the way we exist in our world today is based on the products we buy or don’t buy. Companies produce and market products from their ideological roots. We don’t just buy soap — we purchase a product that "awakens us" or makes us feel "pure".

We can awaken ourselves this Lenten season. We do not have to consume with the complacency of grazing animals. We can purify our intent and clarify our definitions of wealth.

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 190 February 2015: 8-9