12 Steps for Stuff Addiction

Basic ethics asks that I look at what I’m doing and multiply that by everyone in the room and see if it’s sustainable. Could everyone live like me? Rev Alan Storey of the Central Methodist Mission in Cape Town says we would need two planets to sustain the lifestyle of the average white westerner for all 7.2 billion brothers and sisters on this planet. Worse, those who are living a privileged and comfortable lifestyle must be served by an impoverished majority to maintain the luxuries we have. As Christians we are challenged to look at our addiction to materialism, consumerism, stuff. This is not new to those who are attempting to live the Bible’s oldest teachings. Leviticus 25 calls for a Jubilee every 50 years to free those in debt, give back taken land and free the enslaved. Just as Americans look back at our barbaric practices of slavery of 200 years ago, future Americans may look at us 200 years from now and see barbaric practices of consumerism. What is our responsibility today to proclaim such inequality, injustice; our unethical and unsustainable addiction to stuff?
Perhaps a page from AA and NA can help. We start by admitting we’re broken. We cannot fix this by ourselves, but by Grace and humility we may discover a new way to love and live free, each of us.

Rev Alan Storey of the Central Methodist Mission in Cape Town

Rainbow over Cape Town, brought out by the last of the spring rains, like a promise at the end of our day