Post Thanksgiving Consumerism....

 

 

 

"And to whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required..."

 

Luke 12:48 ASV

 

Oh boy. Here we go again. Another start to a holiday season and another lecture from another Pope on consumerism. That Pope Francis - what a kill-joy! We have not even cut into our annual Thanksgiving turkey and he is warning us about excessive consumerism. We need to be concerned about the world's poor, and all that stuff. The only problem is this - he is right.

This morning on the news I saw the annual spectacle of people camped out in the cold just so when the doors open at 12:01 on Friday morning, they can be the first inside to get the latest gizmo. Never mind that most of these folks already have some kind of gizmo - they want the latest and greatest. Meanwhile, half the world away, some man is waiting in an even longer line to see if he could get a jar of rice or a cup of drinkable water for his family. For him it is not a game, it is life and death.

I know - I know. If we have a disappointing "Black Friday" the market might tank on Monday. To that I say boo-ho. Our market is made up of Quantitative Easing garbage anyhow, so who cares. With 91.5 million people out of the work force this year, I will be amazed if they will be able to buy much anyhow. However, for the people who are fortunate to have well paying jobs, this could be a year to really make a difference.

A few years ago, my family had a moment of truth. What did we truly need for gifts during the holiday season. Truthfully, not much. We had been blessed with more than enough, so the "needs" always morphed into the "wants". And many times, the "wants" tuned out to be very shallow.

Since Christmas is about giving, every year we have been trying to give more to those who truly need it - and that number keeps growing. In many impoverished countries, there is not a division between "wants" and "needs" - it is mostly "desperately needs". Life and death needs. Quality of life needs. Nourished or malnourished needs.

This year our family is looking at buying a food producing animal as a gift for some people in Africa. A goat is one of the more popular animals as it produces much needed milk and is easy to care for. We are also looking into wells or water purification systems. Potable water is a huge problem in many Third World countries. We were amazed to find that a deep water well for a village in Africa costs only $15,000. That well would produce potable water for years and save or enhance countless lives.

So to Pope Francis and his "lecture" on excessive consumerism, I say this - thank you sir. Your words ring true. In this world of have too much and don't have anything, we are reminded by very sage words from Luke many years ago. "From whom much has been given, much is expected."