Consumerism and idolatry

In an article for Leadership Journal last year, Skye Jethani makes an important distinction between consumption and consumerism —

Christian critiques of consumerism usually focus on the dangers of idolatry—the temptation to make material goods the center of life rather than God. This, however, misses the real threat consumerism poses. My concern is not materialism, strictly speaking, or even the consumption of goods—as contingent beings, we must consume resources to survive. The problem is not consuming to live, but rather living to consume.

The rest of the article is worth reading as he not only points out that a natural product of living to consume is living to shop — the number one leisure activity of Americans. And that priority then overflows into another favored pasttime for American Christians — shopping for church. It's an article worth reading as we consider the implications of our attraction to money and possessions.