I read different websites that answer this question, from the title, with varying degrees of opinions. They vary from the thought that consumerism is bad and people should throw out their TV set, to others who believe spending and shopping is an American right of passage.

DevilI swing back and forth; do I believe consumerism is a sin, meaning is it a moral issue? Yes and No. It depends on how I look at it.

The actual act of consuming in itself is not a sin as we need to consume to live. We need to eat, be clothed, and find shelter. It is a matter of fact that if those things are not a part of our life, then we will die; either from starvation, sickness or the elements.

However, to over-consume is, in my opinion morally wrong. This is about being greedy with the resources, whether you can afford it or not. This is not about telling a woman about downsizing her very expensive wedding dress to something simpler because they will only wear it once. I am not talking about the small pleasures in life.

It is about the excessive consumption of resources, materials, etc, that we take, ‘just because we can’. Over-consumption is the actual moral sin here. Greed is not good, it hurts others and in time, it hurts the one who is greedy as well.

How do you know you are over-consuming? I would say the first tip off is when it is answered with “because I can” or “because I want”; it is kind of an animalistic approach to what we think are our needs. The impact to others is not even a consideration because we feel that we deserve it more, as if we are entitled to it and no one else is or they had better come fight us for it.

It is time we start to reign in our own over-consumerism before we start picking out the faults that everyone else shows. What is too much for one person, may be just enough for another. It will not all be the same as we are all wonderfully unique people. Because of that, we all have an internal voice that tells us this is too much or too ‘anything’ and we need to quiet ourselves down and start to listen. When we go against that voice, that teaches us our internal value system, then we are sinning, sinning against ourselves.

Related Posts:
Simple Living in a Nutshell
The Want Factor
Buy Nothing Day

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Dawn C. is site owner of Frugalforlife.com and is residing in Colorado with her spouse, Teri, of 11 years. Dawn can be reached at Frugalforlife@gmail.com