Comments on: Consumption Fast

By: Beth

Beth — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:08:36 +0000

I feel like the consumption fast is more about re-focusing ourselves and spending less thought time, and therefore money, on tangible items. I know there’s this whole idea of rejecting consumerism in it to, but at the core, isn’t it mostly about spending less time thinking about what we want and more time thinking about what He wants?

By: nate

nate — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 18:20:20 +0000

Hi Rick,
I dread getting into debates via the post section of any blog…I feel that can exacerbate relationships between blog owners, myself, and other readers, so if possible, allow me to respond via email. Hit me up at nostawetan@gmail.com.
Peace!
Nate

By: Rick

Rick — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:42:48 +0000

nate,
except for one unbeliever’s duplicity, and the appropriate response to it, I’m not sure the Obama/Rev Wright discussion has been overly heated. And even if it had been, would that necessarily be a bad thing? As a child of the 60’s, I’m convinced that race relations have taken a huge step backwards in our country, and any frank discussion of it is likely to make many of us emotional, as you shared about yourself.

I’ve avoided this thread, up until now, simply because some of this is new territory for me and I’m considering the responders’ experiences. I’ve fasted at times over the years, and I’m totally on board with rejecting our culture’s shallow emphasis of status based on image/possessions, the seduction of consumerism. But that doesn’t seem to be what this is about. Somewhere between greed and Jesus “saving the best for last” is where we may want to focus our possessions. Somewhere between rags and the remarkable garment that Jesus must have worn is how we may want to present ourselves. I am absolutely NOT accusing Nathan or any of you posters of this, but self-denial can take on a form of false humility. And so I’m following this thread, learning. We’re just having a conversation here, nate, what do you think?

Thanks, Rick

By: nate

nate — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:57:31 +0000

Last night Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory was on tv last night, so I watched it. I was struck by the Aesop/Biblical parable-esque feel to it.

I thought of the words of Jesus, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God,” and, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

And I thought of this post, so I reread it and noticed the lack of comments in contrast to the previous blog and its heated discussion on Obama/Rev Wright; and that was slightly disheartening.

So I wanted to encourage you and let you know that I and others take note of your fast and apply it to our lives. I an implicit vow of poverty when my wife and I had four kids in five years and then I took a low paying ministry job, but we realize there is still much we can give up.

Peace

By: Staceyyy

Staceyyy — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:57:47 +0000

Nathan, thanks for the details, you and your wife are wise beyond your years. My husband and I had gone into a sort of unintentional fast of sorts over the year and only WISH we’d been more aware of what we were up to….now that we see the light at the end of the tunnel, I’d like to talk to him about this kind of fast. We’ve learned so much about ourselves through this process and never want to forget how easy it is to get caught up.

There is this boy in Kenya (our Compassion child) who constantly reminds me I have far more than he; yet he is just as grateful to God for his blessings than I. When I read his letters, I’m continually stunned at this revelation. Cheers AND Blessings!

By: Adam

Adam — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 09:15:56 +0000

Great Idea. Something I have also been thinking about is giving based on my spending. The idea I have been throwing around is giving to charity as much as I spend on non-essentials. Haven’t started yet though.

I like your stuff. So I am going to blog roll you.

By: Brittian

Brittian — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 06:53:20 +0000

Hey Nathan,
great post…great site…

My wife and I are doing this also–sucks that we are dragging around student loans (etc)…that makes it tighter. But one of the ways we are also fasting is from the superfluous sets of choices that the culture offers us…200 TV channels, 5 types of mustard (I had 5 different types in my fridge–yikes), more than several pairs of clothes…in some ways the discipline of simplicity also can be reenforced by limiting those choices which dominant culture assumes is it’s right. I for one would rather OPT OUT.

I’m going to blogroll you–can’t wait to see what keeps working in and out of you.

Thanks
Brittian

By: Recently (3) « flip the pig

Recently (3) « flip the pig — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 22:41:25 +0000

[...] Raving About: Seeing the Claudia Quintet last night at Dazzle; our ladies volleyball team finally working together – we played a great, fast-paced game last night; our family volleyball team getting back together Sunday night; the rage (and so good discussion) William Lane Craig’s “The Absurdity of Life Without God” inspired in one of my intro classes this week; Nathan Gann’s post about a consumption fast. [...]

By: Heather

Heather — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 18:47:13 +0000

A good resource (if someone out there is thinking about this) is Andy Crouch (his blog–http://culture-makers.com/). He talks about this issue and the idea of long-term satisfaction in creating (while the short-term may be less than gratifying as we learn new instruments or how to paint) and the falling (and failing) long-term satisfaction of consumerism. He has a new book coming out soon–Culture Making: Recovering our Creative Calling.

By: Becky

Becky — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:14:42 +0000

I love this. Love it. It’s so counter cultural. How long are you planning on doing it?

For me, the issue isn’t buying stuff. I’m not really a “stuff” person. My issue is traveling … I spend so much money on vacations. Which I guess could be considered another type of consumption. Just thinking about fasting from traveling, though, about kills me. But your point about making choices that put Jesus in control is very thought-provoking.

Great post.

By: Just Matt

Just Matt — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:44:53 +0000

Great Post Nathan – this really intrigues me… got me thinking…thanks for the inspiration.

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:05:16 +0000

I did this about a year ago for six months after reading about “the Compact” out in San Francisco. See this Google search for details. The interesting difference there is that they choose not to stop buying anything, but just not anything new (other than underwear and shoes, I believe).

It was an interesting experience and I may try it again. One interesting point that came up – at one time I was searching for a specific book and found it on Amazon both new and used. The used version was within a dollar of the new (and we’re talking an expensive book – like $60). Then what to do? In the end, I didn’t buy either of them. :o)