Christian Practice, Part 2: The Practices of Stuff

We live in a world of stuff. And that stuff ("resources" from the basic--food, clothing, shelter--to the complex--cars, diamond rings, computers) can cause us problems. Consequently, Christian practice will involve actions to manage our stuff in holy ways.

Stuff causes two big problems:

1.) Stuff is distributed unequally. Some people live with vast excess (way more than they need to survive) while others live in want, many facing starvation. If the well-off group refuses to share, we call this "injustice." Thus, acts of "social justice" seek ways to enact some sort of redistribution of stuff so that all people can have enough stuff to survive and thrive.

2.) Stuff is used to signal status and hierarchy. Much of our stuff is a signaling device, a way to inform strangers (in personal life and the world of work) that we are "high status." This point was most forcibly made by Thorstein Veblen (pictured above) in his Theory of the Leisure Class. Veblen observes that many of us engage in "conspicuous consumption"--essentially wasting money on non-essential stuff--to display to others the vast resources at our command. Christians are concerned about this status display for two reasons. First, it's a waste when people are starving in this world. Second, Christians consider hierarchies as forms of violence. Hierarchies create "classes" of people where those of the "higher" class are awarded more privilege and respect. Christians are repeatedly commanded in the NT to refuse to do this.

Given these twin problems with stuff, I believe Christians should practice three things: Charity, hospitality, and simplicity. Or, more concretely, giving, sharing, and non-accumulation.

The NT seems very clear that the acts of charity, hospitality, and simplicity are key Christian practices. These practices are vital in that they get at the twin problems of stuff: Injustice and hierarchy. Giving and sharing help with the redistribution of resources and simplicity attacks the issue of "conspicuous consumption."

I think most Christians would agree with me on the practices of charity, hospitality, and simplicity. The controversial issues involve implementation. How much should we give? How much do we share? How simple is simple enough?

Clearly, Christian traditions differ in how they implement the "practices of stuff." Some Christians drive Hummers while others prefer public transportation (on theological grounds). Who is practicing correctly here?

I can't answer that question. But I will humbly offer two principles of discernment that I think all Christians should subscribe to:

Principle 1: Your choices must be affected by charity, hospitality, and simplicity.

If you give me a tour of your life and allow me access to your choices about stuff, you must, if you claim to be practicing Christianity, show me multiple examples of how a given choice was solely made to practice charity, hospitality, or simplicity. For example, you would have to show me something like this: "I had a choice between A and B. I really wanted A, but chose B because I wanted to practice simplicity." If you have many examples of this in your life (think about your house, car, cloths, electronics, books, jewelry, etc.) where you consciously chose to practice something like simplicity (you are currently living in a simpler house or driving a simpler car or wearing simpler cloths than you could have had) then I say you are practicing Christianity (in this particular area).

Principle 2: You are becoming more charitable, hospitable, or living more simply.

Our attempts to practice Christianity have a goal: To conform to the image of Jesus. Thus, your choices regarding stuff must be changing over time. Let's say you didn't make a simple choice last year or gave $ last year. What about this year? Will your choices now be more simple? Will you now give $$$ instead of $? The progress will be slow, perhaps glacial. But there must be some commitment to grow and change over time.

To conclude, many Christians start the practices of charity, hospitality, and simplicity at different places (theologically and socio-economically). For each, the practices of stuff involve allowing Christian commitments to shape their choices today and to allow those commitment to increasingly dominate their life as time goes on.

Summary
So, to summarize my list of Christian practices from last post to this, we have the following:

Ahimsa
Charity
Hospitality
Simplicity

More to come.