During the time of Lent, our minds are concerned with the concept of sacrifice, whether we're fasting ourselves or thinking about Jesus' ultimate sacrifice for us. In contrast, retailers, as ever, are focused on our continued consumption. Supermarkets have already began to stock Easter eggs and copious amounts of chocolatey products on their shelves, advertising offers to entice shoppers and boost sales. This period of giving up within the Christian faith is sharply juxtaposed with the temptation to give in and indulge in rampant consumerism.
It's very easy to be taken in by the incessant advertising that we're on the receiving end of on a daily basis. According to marketing analysts, each person is subjected to anything between 250 and 3,500 adverts every single day. From billboards and bus shelters to awnings and online pop-ups, it's almost impossible to avoid these calls to consume.
However, as more and more of us become aware of the destructive environmental and societal consequences of our excessive consumption habits, we're rethinking the way we shop and how we spend our money. The collapse of a clothing factory in Bangladesh almost three years ago had a profound impact on my shopping tendencies. But it shouldn't take take a tragic incident to prompt us to reexamine the way that we reconcile consumerism and Christianity.
When we think about consumerism as Christians, it's helpful to look at it in a holistic sense, not just in terms of materialistic idolisation but also in terms of how we approach our faith. The consumeristic outlook can find a way of creeping into our interactions within faith settings. Just as we can become hooked on seeking out an offer in which we part with very little but gain a lot, we can also become preoccupied with what we can gain from God, church and so on, instead of what we can give. Are we praying for others as well as asking others to pray for our needs? Are we giving our time to God as well as asking him to give time to us? Are we contributing as well as consuming? Unlike our attitudes to supermarket shopping, our thoughts should not always centre on what we can get but what we can give. Whether you're taking part in Lenten fasting or not, this holy season we can all use Jesus' example to remind us that even when we deprive ourselves the frivolity of consumption, we shouldn't deprive others of our contributions.
