Consuming: It Makes us Happy!

Why We Pay for Things💵

It's not a secret to anyone that Americans (that's us) are driven by consumerism.

Consumerism: The cultural phenomenon where happiness is associated with acquiring certain possessions. 

Christians and non-Christians alike partake of this phenomenon.

The things we want, we want because we believe they will bring us happiness or satisfaction. If we don't think something is going to bring us happiness or satisfaction, we don't want it and we will not pay to consume it.

This is the world we were born into, raised in, and are now raising our children in.

Consumerism makes sense on a base level (who wants to consume something that taste horrible or you think is ugly).

But when the THINGS we consume dictate our HAPPINESS, and HAPPINESS is our only goal, there is a problem.

Consuming People 👩‍⚕️👨‍🏭👷‍♀️

Consumerism is not restricted to just buying physical things though. It also drives our decisions about who we give our money to.

And we give money to a LOT of different people:

• Personal Services - We pay people to watch our children, mow our lawns, cook a meal for us...
• Spiritual Outlays - Our tithes go to pay our Worship Leader(s), Pastor(s), Youth Minister, office secretary, maintenance people...
• Taxes - We willingly (most times) pay taxes that go to the firemen, the mayor, police chief, military personnel, road construction people, and the crossing guard at the elementary school...

Why are we willing to give money to all these people?

Because what we get from them makes us happier!

If you don't believe it: What happens to the guy who doesn't cut your lawn exactly the way you want or the politician that doesn't deliver what you want?

It sounds bad, but to many people, other people are just a means through which happiness may (or may not) be delivered.

Consumerism in the Church⛪

Consumerism has even changed what "going to Church" looks like:

• Church Shopping (The Churn) - Did you ever wonder why a lot of people go Church Shopping every few years? Their old church has lost its "excitement" and they are looking for a Church that will make them "happy" again. (Church Shopping)
• Worship Music must be exciting and engaging or we are disappointed and grumble.
• Sermons have to be relevant to "me", the consumer (that's why pastors now always start their sermons with a five minute "personal" intro story - to pull you into their sermon and make sure you can see a personal application to your life).
• In Missions, we spend hundreds or thousands for our 15 year-old child to consume a "mission trip" while career missionaries are leaving the Mission Field each day due to lack of support. (How Many Missionaries Leave the Field Each Day?)

Consumerism has invaded the vast majority of Churches today because the church is us and Consumerism is what is driving us each day.

Any Church that doesn't acknowledge our Consumerist roots, and adjust, will find itself with a lot of empty seats.

For more: Consumerism and the Church

Consumerism and Support Raising for Missionaries

So what does all of this have to do with One Village Group and the Missionaries we work with?

Consumerism impacts Mission work in many ways, but the biggest impact is in the areas of raising and maintaining financial support.

Picture This: A Missionary comes up and asks you to support a pre-school they are building in Bokurdak, Turkmenistan for outreach to Muslims.

So is our reaction: "Great! Please tell me more!"

NO - Most people's reaction is: "Why are you asking me this❓"

You have never been to Turkmenistan (can't find it on a map), your own kid's school is a shambles, and besides all that, you already gave your "Christian" giving to the church?

But what is really happening in this interchange?

This missionary has, unbeknownst to them, entered into a competition for your money. You, being an avid participant in Consumerism, have already allocated your dollars to things you hope will bring you happiness - in fact, you have probably gone into debt in pursuit of that happiness.

The pre-school in Turkmenistan is facing some really stiff, and in some cases impossible, competition!

Why This Discussion?

At One Village Group, we work to help Missionaries communicate their ministries to the world in concise and understandable ways. (Why We Exist)

In our fast-paced Consumer society, if a Missionary cannot quickly and effectively explain what they are doing and why it is important and relevant to the person they are talking to, those people will quickly tune them out.

Gone are the days when God's Biblical mandates were enough to encourage most people to get involved in the sharing of the Gospel (Seventy-four percent of the church Doesn't know what the Great Commission is...).

Missionaries must now deliver information in clear and compelling ways, on clear and compelling platforms, formatted in ways people want to communicate if they ever hope to engage today's Consumer.

So if the Missionary does everything right, can we assure Missionaries that people will engage with their ministry?

Nope - But it does assure that the Missionaries have done their best and seeds have been planted.

God Will Bless...

The Good news?

God will raise up the support needed for His Word to be heard. Some of those little seeds Missionaries are planting will grow and bear fruit.

After all:

If God is for us, who can ever be against us? (Romans 8:31)💪

Can Missionaries do a better job of encouraging others to get involved?

Absolutely.

And as they do, more and more people will get involved in God's work and start to experience the JOY He promises and quit settling for the fleeting "happiness" of Consumerism.