“I began to find my own conspicuous consumption slightly nauseating…there was, it slowly dawned on me, something really rather gross about wanting something and buying it, just like that – ” (The Thrift Book – India Knight)

After a brief excusion down to Wyse Byse and Connswater one Saturday in January I came back horribly deflated and depressed.  I had spent an hour wandering around looking at pretty things, cute things and quirky things – all of them I didn’t need.   I became aware of many other people doing the same around me, pointing out something lovely to each other and standing at till points clutching armfuls of totally non- essential tat.  Nothing expensive really (one of the great fun things about Wyse Byse) but still giving off the same whiff of unnecessary, pointless purchasing and spending that you can identify in any socio economic group or community around Belfast.  This is not a contemporary phenomenon. We as people are motivated by greed, possessions, appearance and status the same now as we always were and Jesus had quite a lot to say about it.

In many ways what Jesus taught about money has commonly been split into two applications: one is give some money in an envelope to charity every month and the other is to give some money in an envelope to the church every month.  Leading us to think “well I am buying a goat and I have contributed to the church carpets” we happily continue in our consumerism safe in the knowledge that we give regularly. Jesus said “No-one can be a slave to two masters.  Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot be a slave to both God and money” Matt 6:24.  I think traditionally we have read this verse and comforted ourselves with the thought “well its not like I love money, I don’t sit in a room counting it every night and sleeping with gold ingots under my pillow”  But how many of us do if we are honest actually sit at night counting our money?  Working out the bills, working out how to get some money to buy what we want and then go to sleep with it being one of the foremost issues in our minds – I certainly do.  I am constantly hoping for this or that and I think by buying into this culture of consumerism I am serving money a little too much! It’s a troubling thought.

This isn’t a venture to make us feel guilty and put off, but I think it is worth putting a challenge out there or even a question.  How can we as Christians be remarkable in our treatment of and attitudes about money?  If we want to follow Jesus’ instruction about money, what does that really look like?  What are the practical ways that we can serve God first and not squirm or evade some of the full implications of Jesus’ teaching.  Lets get some conversation going and learn from each other.