I've been in many different churches over the years. I've sat through many different sermons by many different preachers and I've concluded that there are two types of talk. First, there are times when you hear something said that just washes over you and makes absolutely no difference to your life whatsoever. And then there are times when something is said that, although not directed at you by the speaker, feels like God has addressed it to you personally and you cannot help but sit up and take notice. It's that feeling you get when you walk up to a group of people and know someone's talking about you. Like the words you hear echo in your chest and all you're sure about it is that you've got to do something about what you've heard.
The latter happened to me yesterday.
I was at church, nothing usual about that, it's a regular feature of my Sunday's most weeks. I was sat in the congregation, something slightly unusual seeing as it was the first time I wasn't involved in being up the front for about seven weeks. The subject of the sermon was...
Shopping.
The basic point of the sermon was not that shopping was bad or that God was opposed to shopping and anyone that shops more than once a month is not allowed into heaven. But it was more along the lines of being sensible in your shopping habits. Shopping to live rather than living to shop. We all need to shop to buy clothes and food and thats a good thing. Even shopping for gadgets and things to make our lives more enjoyable is ok. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with the act of shopping itself even.
It's our motives for shopping that were questioned. Why do we buy what we buy? What is it about designer stuff that is appealing? Why do we feel we have to upgrade to the next model of this phone or that gadget?
The answer lies within our desire as human beings to belong.
And consumerism plays on that desire. Consumerism tells us that products and things will complete us. That Nike football boots will make you the best player and admired by your team-mates, that Prada handbags will bring you a glamourous lifestyle and respect, that the top range phone will somehow gain you more friends to call. But these are all lies. The brand name, whether genuine or a genuine fake, will not bring you what you want. The buzz of having the new thing fades so quickly and is never satisfied.
But for some reason we spend money we don't have on things we don't need to impress people who don't care.
If not complete without the handbag, you'll never be complete with it.
If you can't kick a ball straight, no brand of football boot will ever help you.
Shopping in itself is a good thing, but it's our motives for buying things that is what we need to carefully examine and keep in check. And I say we because I am the worst person for this.
Confession Time: I am a shopaholic. I like shopping, I like clothes - there is nothing wrong with my appreciation for fashion (you may have other opinions on that).
But what struck me more worryingly yesterday was that I like that I am a shopaholic. For some reason I am proud to admit that I have too many clothes. And actually, I don't want to be like that. I have been through my wardrobe before and found clothes with the tags still in them that I've never worn. I often doubt my own ability to buy a pair of trainers without 'adidas' printed on them. It is this side of me that I have been challenged on and that I'm going to try and change. I haven't the slightest idea how yet but I will continue to think about it and work out a way to alter my shopaholic tendancies.
Too many times I've heard things and they've gone in one ear and out the other. This time, I want it to be different.
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