For sale
My last post might have given the impression that I am dead against malls and such places. Need to clarify that's not the case. I like going to the mall because everything is available under a single roof and if one gets thoroughly bored by the shopping, there are other pleasant distractions like the food court and the cineplex. A lazy man like me enjoys nothing better than this.
Besides, in a place like Bahrain, malls are one of the best cost-effective entertainment options because the alternatives are... not much. Unless, of course, one enjoys a sense of deja vu by going to the museum again adn again.
I digress.
Yes, my problem is not with malls per se but it is with the consumerist culture that it spawns and the superficial and almost disposable value system that it spawns. If consumerism was a religion, then, malls are its temples and weekends are its days of worship. It casts a mesmerising spell on consumers by manufacturing desires to push the sales curve. People buy products not because they need it but they've been told that having such and such product will enhance their self image and boost their self esteem. A bit of an exagerration here, I know, but a quick browse through most of the ads on TV or newspapers will show this to be the case.
The trouble is, consumerism turns everything around us into a 'purchaseable commodity'... for instance, sunsets can be best viewed from the coffee shop of a five-star hotel, love can be best expressed only through a greeting card, information can be accessed only by subscription to select media, beauty can be acquired by purchasing a new line of cosmetics, new hairstyle and the latest fashion collection, desirability can be increased by membership to a health club...
What I find so disturbing is that this mindset is extended into the personal sphere as well... people start believing the lie that their life can turn for the better if they buy so and so product or that relationships can be restored if such and such product is bought. Everything in life seems to carry a price and if you have the purchasing power, good. And if you don't, then, you are worthless.
And at the other extreme, we find this consumerist philosophy creeping into the church and completely distorting the gospel. The so-called 'prosperity' gospel and the rantings of some tele-evangelists come to mind when I say this. Sometimes healing and miracle crusades are projected like huge public relations exercise for the preacher instead of using them as pointers to God's power. And churches, too, are positioned as social clubs where only a certain type of people will find acceptance and others can join only if they toe the line.
And where is Christ in all of this?
I find it assuring to know that in the earliest instance of consumerism creeping into the Temple in Jerusalem, Jesus' response was to turn the money-lenders and the bird sellers away and tell them that they've turned God's house into a den of thieves. Are we able to be so passionate when we encounter such acts of thievery in Christendom? And most importantly, will we notice something amiss when we come across such actions?
Consumerism has a place in life but the moment it annexes our entire existence and gobbles our mental framework, then, we need to question it and put it back to where it belongs.
Besides, in a place like Bahrain, malls are one of the best cost-effective entertainment options because the alternatives are... not much. Unless, of course, one enjoys a sense of deja vu by going to the museum again adn again.
I digress.
Yes, my problem is not with malls per se but it is with the consumerist culture that it spawns and the superficial and almost disposable value system that it spawns. If consumerism was a religion, then, malls are its temples and weekends are its days of worship. It casts a mesmerising spell on consumers by manufacturing desires to push the sales curve. People buy products not because they need it but they've been told that having such and such product will enhance their self image and boost their self esteem. A bit of an exagerration here, I know, but a quick browse through most of the ads on TV or newspapers will show this to be the case.
The trouble is, consumerism turns everything around us into a 'purchaseable commodity'... for instance, sunsets can be best viewed from the coffee shop of a five-star hotel, love can be best expressed only through a greeting card, information can be accessed only by subscription to select media, beauty can be acquired by purchasing a new line of cosmetics, new hairstyle and the latest fashion collection, desirability can be increased by membership to a health club...
What I find so disturbing is that this mindset is extended into the personal sphere as well... people start believing the lie that their life can turn for the better if they buy so and so product or that relationships can be restored if such and such product is bought. Everything in life seems to carry a price and if you have the purchasing power, good. And if you don't, then, you are worthless.
And at the other extreme, we find this consumerist philosophy creeping into the church and completely distorting the gospel. The so-called 'prosperity' gospel and the rantings of some tele-evangelists come to mind when I say this. Sometimes healing and miracle crusades are projected like huge public relations exercise for the preacher instead of using them as pointers to God's power. And churches, too, are positioned as social clubs where only a certain type of people will find acceptance and others can join only if they toe the line.
And where is Christ in all of this?
I find it assuring to know that in the earliest instance of consumerism creeping into the Temple in Jerusalem, Jesus' response was to turn the money-lenders and the bird sellers away and tell them that they've turned God's house into a den of thieves. Are we able to be so passionate when we encounter such acts of thievery in Christendom? And most importantly, will we notice something amiss when we come across such actions?
Consumerism has a place in life but the moment it annexes our entire existence and gobbles our mental framework, then, we need to question it and put it back to where it belongs.
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