From Consuming to Cultivating

We live in a society that, for the most part, is morally and spiritually bankrupt. Our culture is a culture of consumerism. How sustainable is that? - Benjamin Bratt

I'm not one for New Year's resolutions, personally. However, in the past few years I have allowed the end of the year to stir thoughts in me about long-term changes I can make that would better my own life, my family's life, and the lives of those that are in my life. As 2022 gave way to 2023 I began to consider what it would look like to begin to orient my life and our family's life around being cultivators rather than consumers. What does moving along the continuum from consumer to cultivator look like? I'm not entirely sure. But I do know that working toward being freed from the incessant cravings of consumerism is not something we will regret in the end.

One thing that I became increasingly aware of in the latter half of 2022 was how consumerism was driving me to view everything as existing solely for my pleasure and enjoyment. There was an ever increasing, insatiable desire to get more, more, more. Money I didn't have was spent on things I couldn't afford and didn't necessarily need, all in the hopes that perhaps the next purchase would satiate the hunger that seemed to be growing in me by the day. Not only was this unsustainable financially, it was ruinous to my soul. I was watching the truth of Jesus' words in Mark 8:36-37, "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?" play out in real time. 

Beyond this, there was the reality that living a life fueled by consumption killed my desire for things that would truly satisfy and still my soul. It was akin to becoming a sugar addict where the empty calories of consumption led to momentary highs and then crashes that caused me to overlook the blessings and goodness that were right in front of me. Bible reading and prayer became bland. Being gathered with the local church on Sunday mornings and in small group was something to be checked-off, not something to be feasted on. My wife and daughters became momentary distractions, interactions with them were brief reprieves where the longing for something more was stirred but quickly suppressed. I was entertained but not engaged. I was preoccupied but not present. In other words, I was miserable and didn't have the first clue how to tell anyone what was going on.  As I looked around at the impact on my life and our family's life, I knew it was time for change.

As I considered how to move towards freedom from consumption and as I prayed through the desire to be free of this way of living I was drawn towards cultivation as the antithesis to consuming. Cultivation, at least for me, carries with it the idea of creating a life that invites others in rather than holding them at arms length or only investing in those that can help me consume more. I thought about how the skilled gardener invites others to enjoy the beauty of their work. The master gardener knows their own joy is tied up in sharing their work with others. I thought about the hardworking farmer who cultivates a field and cares for livestock in a way that not only nourishes their own family but provides that same nourishment for others. There was a growing appeal to move towards this way of living, not just for the short-term, but for the long-term benefits of living without myself at the center.

The more I thought about what a cultivated life could be the more I was drawn to Paul's words to the church in Galatia. He writes in Galatians 5:22-26, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another." In order to flourish in the life God has called us to we have to be committed to weeding out those things that would choke the growth of the fruit of the Spirit. But the work doesn't stop there. cultivating the fruit of the Christian life nourishes, cares for, and strengthens others by bringing them in and giving away what has been so graciously given to us. A life of cultivation is a life of beauty and goodness that invites others in to enjoy and increase our enjoyment of the very things God has blessed us with. This is the life I wanted to embrace and model for our four daughters, a life of cultivating and anticipating the Kingdom.

January is half-over, but if this resonates with you at all, I'd love to have you join me on this journey. I don't think we will find ourselves disappointed. I think we will find our lives filled and blessed in ways we couldn't begin to think or imagine were possible. But life like this is possible because a life of cultivating the fruit of the Spirit is the truly blessed life as we experience more of Christ and share that life with others.