by Allie Marie Smith
I love pretty things. I like to buy pretty things, wear pretty things, decorate my house in pretty things and dream of someday owning lots of expensive, pretty things. I spend tons of energy lusting after, searching for, and investing time in getting stuff I want but don’t need. Like a lot of Americans and like a lot of girls I am a big consumer. A consumer of food, movies, clothes, jewelry, make-up, gas, technology, music, and TV.
During one of my episodes of lusting after something I wanted, but didn’t need, this question stopped me: Do I consume more than I contribute?
Will my legacy be one of contribution or a life characterized by consumerism and consumption of stuff that has no lasting value or eternal significance?
As American girls, we’re reared to be consumers. We believe the lie that the more we consume, the happier, more beautiful, more desirable we become. In the end I believe our life will be characterized by one or the other, but not both.
A life of consumption is self-centered; it takes more than it gives. A life of contribution is an outward-focused life; it creates more than it takes. As daughters of God, we have been created and called to contribute more than we consume.
What kind of life are you living now? Is your life characterized more by consumption or contribution?
