From The Mailbag: Saved From A Life Of Shopping!
Sister Liz writes:
Dear Rev Billy,
My husband and I worked in the corporate world making lots of money and we would go shopping all the time. We filled our home with stuff we never used or wore. We would buy stuff for hobbies we never had time for. Our quality time consisted of shopping together. After years of this, we felt empty. The holidays were more about stress than love and togetherness. We felt like there wasn't any meaning anymore.
On a business trip, I read an article about downshifting and we were hooked. We started to give away and donate all those useless items. We got rid of almost half our "stuff". We stopped shopping as much and really started to pay attention to where our stuff came from and our eco-footprint.
When the recession hit and we lost our high paying jobs, it was a GIFT. We're both poor full time college students now. We're working on getting our degrees so we can do what we really want to do in life vs doing whatever jobs will make the most money. Making money to buy "stuff" just isn't fulfilling enough anymore. We've decided that we can do a lot more with our lives with a whole heck of a lot less junk.
I saw your documentary on Netflix today and I just wanted you to know that even though we are non-Christian, I agree with your message and there are probably a lot of other people of other faiths out there who would also agree. It would be interesting to see you guys team up with a Jewish temple and an Islam mosque.
Keep preaching and keep getting the word out. What your church is doing is important in so many different ways. :)
Sincerely,
Liz
Amen!
Dear Rev Billy,
My husband and I worked in the corporate world making lots of money and we would go shopping all the time. We filled our home with stuff we never used or wore. We would buy stuff for hobbies we never had time for. Our quality time consisted of shopping together. After years of this, we felt empty. The holidays were more about stress than love and togetherness. We felt like there wasn't any meaning anymore.
On a business trip, I read an article about downshifting and we were hooked. We started to give away and donate all those useless items. We got rid of almost half our "stuff". We stopped shopping as much and really started to pay attention to where our stuff came from and our eco-footprint.
When the recession hit and we lost our high paying jobs, it was a GIFT. We're both poor full time college students now. We're working on getting our degrees so we can do what we really want to do in life vs doing whatever jobs will make the most money. Making money to buy "stuff" just isn't fulfilling enough anymore. We've decided that we can do a lot more with our lives with a whole heck of a lot less junk.
I saw your documentary on Netflix today and I just wanted you to know that even though we are non-Christian, I agree with your message and there are probably a lot of other people of other faiths out there who would also agree. It would be interesting to see you guys team up with a Jewish temple and an Islam mosque.
Keep preaching and keep getting the word out. What your church is doing is important in so many different ways. :)
Sincerely,
Liz
Amen!
Can I get an Amen?
I, too, just watched your documentary on Netflix, and I am grateful to our Fabulous Creator to learn that there actually IS a man preaching publicly who is the genuine Christ-like article. We are given creativity in order to use it for the larger public good, the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir has creativity and talent in abundance, and you are all being 'fools for God' in the genuine manner God intended. Kudos, and keep up the good work.
I get so sick hearing Christians claim that they are confronting our sick culture and being 'persecuted' as a result, when really they aren't -- but you guys are, and I sincerely applaud you for that. I am reminded of Peace Pilgrim in the 1970s who was put in jail regularly for being a vagrant just because she insisted she had the right as a human being to spend her life walking to promote peace, and lay her head on the ground wherever she happened to find herself when she was tired. I was reminded of that when Savitri accurately noted in the documentary that in some parts of the country there are no sidewalks and all property is either commercial or private. If you are not actively paying for land (as an owner or a consumer of that owner's products) you have no right to step foot on it. Surely our Fabulous Creator never intended us to hold the earth in bondage like this.
I believe Jesus Christ was God's son, but have sadly (and shockingly) come to realize over the years that Christianity is a false religion which gives the appearance of inducing faithfulness to Christ when, in reality, it purposely serves as an enabler to the slick, expensive, unimaginative and unGodly world culture which enchants and enslaves almost all who encounter it. Christianity needs more genuine prophets like yourself to shake it up, shake it down, shake it loose.
I earn and spend just enough for basic necessities, buy what little clothing I own secondhand, DEFINITELY believe that 'The Devil Wears Prada' (i.e. that the fashion industry is an entity of the anti-Christ!), do not belong to a church because I haven't stumbled upon one worth joining, and am struggling to raise whole, creative, loving children in a culture otherwise permeated with consumerism, violence, rudeness, and science fiction packaged as reality. Wish me luck to keep fighting the good fight, as I do the same for all of you beautiful people!
Someone who believes in the work you are doing,
Diane Stranz
Arlington, Texas