"The world would go so much better,' Marshall wrote,' if everyone would buy fewer and simpler things, and would take trouble in selecting them for their real beauty; ... preferring to buy a few things made well by highly paid labor rather than many made badly by low paid labor.'
If you thought that the above statement was a quote penned from an article recently, you would be forgiven. It was written in the 1890’s, as Alfred Marshall was finishing Principles of Economics, the first economics book of our era.(1)

As it turns out, consumerism as we know has been around since the 15th century, and its baggage of worker exploitation, distractions from a simpler life, and addiction to money and “stuff” continue to this day.

As we’re passing the halfway mark in this season of Lent, now may be as good of a time as any to think about sacrifice, how we interact with this world, and our role in living out Heaven on Earth. On the opposite side of the scale, one may make the argument that consumerism and consumption will be found. By nature, we are consumers and to an extent, it’s impossible to NOT consume. Which isn’t necessarily evil – money isn’t evil, but the root of money is evil. So, the question is… how do we consume?

Our consumption demands at least one of two methods of payment: time and/or money. What are you getting when you make that payment? Who do you support with your time, with your money? Who is impacted by where your time is spent, where your money is spent? Who benefits from your time, your money? Who you are as a person, molded over time, influenced by where your time and money are invested. (2,3)

At the end of the day, we are in stewardship of both the time and money allotted to us; all belongs to our Lord.4 Within this stewardship, we are free to do as we see fit but must understand that what we do will ultimately be held to account.5 Do we prioritize family? Ourselves? What about the poor, the oppressed?(7,8) Are they harmed when a cheap, disposable plastic widget is purchased from a mammoth corporation? What about the very Earth we stand upon, in which one day Jesus will be returning, bringing redemption to this world?(8) We are, after all, Kingdom Citizens, charged with living out the decrees of the Kingdom of Heaven on this Earth.

As in all things, this is a topic to be approached with prayer and thanksgiving. Celebrate that with which you’ve been charged. Ask for the wisdom to understand and identify where your consumption can be a blessing to others, ask for the courage to act even when it may ultimately be a sacrifice.

Sources
1 Frank Trentmann, Empire of Things: How We Became a World of Consumers, from the Fifteenth Century to the Twenty-First (New York: Harper Perennial, 2017), [153].
2 Q4intelligence, “The Way You Spend Time and Money Reflects Your Beliefs and Values,” Insights by Q4intel, accessed March 28, 2025, https://insights.q4intel.com/the-way-you-spend-time-and-money-reflects-your-beliefs-and-values.
3 Pastor Rick, “Your Heart Is Where Your Time and Money Are,” Pastor Rick (blog), accessed March 28, 2025, https://pastorrick.com/your-heart-is-where-your-time-and-money-are/.
4 1 Cor. 10:26 (NIV).
5 2 Cor. 5:10 (NIV).
6 James 2:3–6 (NIV).
7 1 Tim. 6:17–21 (NIV).
8 N. T. Wright, Surprised by Scripture: Engaging Contemporary Issues (New York: HarperOne, 2014), chap. 5, "Jesus is Coming, Plant a Tree!"

Authored by Adam Feather