ON CONSUMERISM

Living in the city where you are offered every good thing everyone would want to have is a big challenge. One, with the meager resources that I have, it is impossible to acquire every single thing my eyes would desire. Two, at the end of the day, what really matters is only the things you NEED, not all the things you WANT.

I grew up in a simple family with a very simple lifestyle. My parents would make sure we only spend what fits on our "budget" - a very tight budget for our whole family. Being raised that way makes me appreciate the things I have, and it made me be contented with what I already have, not craving for something that looks better, or costs higher, when I already own something that serves the same purpose. That made me live with the principle, "if you can live without it, you don't need to die for it."

Right now, I live in an environment where consumerism bugs me all the time. There are offers on buying things I don't necessarily need, or desiring things I can actually live without. There is also one culture of consumerism that begins to annoy me. There is a trend (at least among people my age), of treating your friends out for dinner or snack. Usually, my friends would do that. At first, I liked it because then I get to save a bit on my budget. However, they get back on you sometimes by forcing you to treat them with some things that costs even more than the amount they gave you for free. It keeps on happening and I am totally hating that fact.

Why? Of course there is nothing wrong in treating your friends. But sometimes it just becomes dragging when you are forced to spend money on things that would sacrifice your budget for your savings, or on my case my budget for some other things like helping out with ministry activities.

There is completely nothing wrong with the idea of buying the things you want, as long as you can afford it. But right now I am disliking the fact that people sometimes (consciously or unconsciously) force you to spend money on things you don't actually plan to spend on.

Personally, I have very strict rules on budgeting. Not that I am thrifty, I actually love treating people! But I want to make sure that I save a bulk of my budget for meaningful things. It becomes hard when people around you gets you out of control.

Truly, this is just a minor issue, but this is a big part of the challenge that I know God is putting me to test. May the Lord give me strength as I endure the temptations of consumerism around me.

I need prayers for more strength on this matter.