The consumption of humanity

15th January, 2004

ADAM KELSALL

Does it seems strange to you that we don’t see human beings as the most important thing on this planet? We seem to find joy in pigeonholing each other. Cheapening others into systems according to our upbringing and belief
systems. Saddam Hussein = Bad; Mother Teresa = Good.

Human beings are not a workforce, or a commodity to be bought and sold on the stock exchange. The word human itself seems almost to be too generic, almost ‘in-human’. Humans are people. Playing, laughing, screaming,
obnoxious, undeserving, angry, graceful, loving people.

Recently I was on my way to do a school presentation: the day was a fuzzy
mess of running, cutting, pasting and phone calls. I was just about at the school when a text message comes through: ‘crying and feeling sad’.

Focused on my school presentation, I texted back: ‘have a presentation, chat later’.

I was on the way home from the presentation (having forgotten all about the message) when another message came through: ‘chat later? Still crying and feeling sad’.

Feeling like I just want to chill, I left it. After all, I am tired and my phone bills have been huge lately; I can't afford to be in a long message conversation. I just wanna go home and hang out in T.V.-land for a while. This person can cope -after all we all cry and feel sad occasionally, don’t we?

Have you ever tried to eat a brick? All at once shove it in your mouth? Funny question, I hear you say. I can guarantee that if you did try it, it'd be something that would probably get stuck in your throat for the rest of your life. Sometimes life, like a brick seems to take pleasure in trying to get all of itself into your system at once, sending your brain into a furious maelstrom of confusion and anxiety, bringing to mind questions that you know you probably shouldn’t ask yourself and know even more that the answers lie out
there with God somewhere.

Another text came through: ‘me sad = crying = harming myself = suicide’.

I feel the brick trying to force it’s way down my oesophagus. Sideways. I tried to ring this person but they refused to answer. Apparently, they wanted to have a text conversation: maybe real voices, real emotions are to hard. Using SMS seemed to make it easier. OK then.

As the text conversation, unfolded so did this person's life. The situations they have faced in their short life have been vile, terrifying and speak of how far humanity has fallen.

In the first chapter of Genesis, God created the land and the ocean, the stars, sun and moon. He filled the ocean with creatures. In both verses 18 and 25 it states that "God was pleased with what He saw". God then went on to create man and woman and he is described in verse 31 as being "very pleased". This speaks to me that of all the wonderful things God has created around us, His most pleasing creation is in fact us:
humanity, humans, people.

Even though we have now fallen from the plan He once had for us, He still delights in us. After all, He has given his most precious gift in Jesus.

Why do we not share in God’s joy for humanity? Why does this young person text me no longer wanting to live in this world? Why does this young person have to endure pain at the hands of other humans who share neither love nor respect for the other inhabitants of this planet?

These questions are difficult and we must look to the cross for answers. When we feel disgust with humanity (that includes myself!) we must think of God’s response. Where would we be if God had of responded as I did with "Oh, I’m tired" or "I just wanna watch TV" or "they will cope"?

What is God’s response? When we are at our worst, He is at his best. He gives. And gives. Then gives some more.

What do we give?

Do we live to give?

I think about how much God has given, and ponder whether he has given it to me for me? Am I here on my business or God's business?

Recently my pastor presented a sermon on conceivers and consumers. Conceivers, he said, were people who bring life into life: they create and make things new. The opposite of them are consumers. Consumers are takers; their intention is to receive.

I wonder if consuming is replacing humans as the most important thing on the planet. Not in the form of a huge shift, but subtle shift in which raw, human emotions are being replaced by consumerism. We are daily presented with opportunities to be conceivers yet we choose to consume instead. So how can we live as conceivers instead of consumers?

The root of the answer may lie in working out why we are consumers. Are we motivated by fear? Fear of inadequacy, fear of separation, fear of loneliness, fear of not fitting in, fear of failure. For every individual,
fear has a different face. There would be few people that could deny being afraid of something. Through consuming we can begin to feel empowered against our fears. We see how content the person with that product is and we want that contentment for ourselves. If a product can help alleviate our fears, then we don’t just want it but convince ourselves that we need it.

Becoming conceivers requires a huge paradigm shift and the culture we live in makes this shift difficult. Levels of social status and identity are to be found in not only what we consume, but where we do and with
whom. In the eyes of society we achieve little by being conceivers. Consumption brings contentment to self and material rewards. Conceiving requires sacrifice and maybe even material loss.

This question of conceiving versus consuming forces us to question whether we validate our existence through the society that surrounds us or through the God that loves us. Just as Christ did we should be challenging these dominant messages of society with a kingdom mind-set. The Message version of Romans 12:3-4 states: "Don't become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well formed maturity in you".

Give your fears to God and let Him change you from the inside out. Do not give them to a society with an agenda that espouses spending your way to empowerment, fearlessness and pseudo-happiness. Let God give you courage to tackle fear. Find your validity and status in Christ and this will give you freedom from searching for it in a society that demands consumption. Gradually God will change your heart to one of a conceiver, creating and giving and realizing that there is nothing more important on this planet than the people God has made to occupy it.

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