Image courtesy of the New York Daily News

I will admit a little sheepishly that although I dislike shopping I love receiving presents. Certain creature comforts can momentarily delight–a soft new sweater, a sip of really good bourbon, or an exquisite chocolate will all leave me swearing “I’m in heaven.” At moments I feel more like Madonna than the Madonna: a material girl living in a material world.

I know none of this makes me sound like a very religious person, but religion doesn’t always entail an outright rejection of worldly things. I fervently believe that God gave us bodies and a physical, tangible world in which to live for a reason, and that He wants us to experience and be grateful for their goodness. That being said, there is the truth of the phrase “too much of a good thing.” We have been living in a culture of excess for a long time, and we as a society are now feeling the all-too-real effects of a shopaholic’s hangover.

Anna Quindlen has a great column in a recent issue of Newsweek. Writing about the annual day-after-Thanksgiving national shopping spree she says,

The drumbeat that accompanied Black Friday this year was that the numbers had to redeem us, that if enough money was spent by shoppers it would indicate that things were not so bad after all. But what the economy required was at odds with a necessary epiphany. Because things are dire, many people have become hesitant to spend money on trifles. And in the process they began to realize that it’s all trifles.

Here I go, stating the obvious: stuff does not bring salvation. But if it’s so obvious, how come for so long people have not realized it?

I highly recommend the rest of the piece. It’s really not about making any of us feel bad, but about casting a clear eye on what happens when consumption becomes as an end unto itself, and how unhealthy that is for our economy, our culture, and especially for our souls. Consumerism is as deadly as any other “ism” taken to extreme–and when you add in the cost to our planet, maybe even more so.

Coincidentally, my email in-box had a message on a similar topic earlier this week; the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood released its “Commercialization of Childhood Index.” I first learned about this group at a national conference of Christian educators, and I continue to be inspired and challenged by their message. Disclaimer: I am no model citizen in this regard. My children watch commercial TV (gasp!) and we’ve been known to purchase a Happy Meal or two. Still, I couldn’t help but pause over some of these numbers:

$17,000,000,000: The amount of money spent to market to children, a staggering increase from $100 million in 1983.

$3,400,000,000: Revenue generated by the Disney Princess brand in 2006. There are 40,000 Disney Princess items on the market today.

1,200,000,000: Toys sold with kids’ meals at fast food restaurants in 2006..

200,000: The acts of violence, including 40,000 murders, that the average child will see on television by the time they are eighteen.

.*All statistics cited in this email are taken from CCFC’s downloadable fact sheets: http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/factsheets/facts.htm.

I often talk with my church’s Sunday school teachers about the responsibility we have to make sure that our children are as familiar with the stories of our faith as they are with Cinderella, Spider Man, and all the rest. At this time of year in particular, when the Church so clearly has so much to offer, especially to the many of us who are just plain exhausted by all that other stuff out there, it is heartening to feel like part of the solution for once. There is no better story than the one we tell every Sunday (and hopefully live out and live into the rest of the week), and it will sustain and nurture us long after the tinsel and gift wrap are gone. For Christians, this is the season to contemplate and soon celebrate the Incarnation, and that includes both seeing all of Creation as a gift and being committed to using that gift well and responsibly.

As Quindlen says: stuff is not salvation. But hard economic times are no reason to turn into a Grinch, either. Whatever our different beliefs, maybe we can all agree that this is the year to find the joy in moderation, and the delight in simple pleasures. Chocolate included, of course.