Simplicity

Who in your neighborhood has the nicest car? Who in your extended family has the nicest house? Which of your friends dresses the best? You could probably answer these questions in about ten seconds. Why? Because we notice these things, which means they matter to us on some level. We rank ourselves next to our friends, family and neighbors automatically, gauging where we sit in the hierarchy of things.

Women might not notice the same things as men. Some people won’t know what kind of car someone drives or the brand of cell phone they carry, but they’ll pick out a brand name purse at a hundred paces, and spot the cut of an expensive outfit in a crowd. There is always something that we notice and wish we had, if only we could afford it, or more realistically, if there were room on our credit cards.

Our society is dominated by materialistic values. One study of the standard of living in the U.S. discovered that 46 percent of people considered below the poverty line own their own home, 73 percent of the poor own a car, and 77 percent own an air conditioner. (Wall Street Journal) Cell phones, which used to be considered a luxury for the wealthy, are now in 72 percent of Canadian households. (Shaw) “Consumption in real per-capita terms has nearly doubled since 1970. The single largest increase in expenditures for low-income households over the past 20 years was for audio and visual entertainment systems, up 119 percent. In 2007 Americans spent an estimated $1 billion to change the tune of the ringer on their cell phones. Eating in restaurants used to be something the rich did regularly and the middle class did on special occasions. The average family now spends $2,700 a year dining out.” (Moore) Things that used to be considered luxuries are now considered necessities. We simply cannot do without them.

Is it fair to expect us to go without? For example, before cell phones came in, there used to be pay phones on every corner. If you needed to reach someone, you just popped in a quarter and made your call. You could find them anywhere; in malls, street corners, subways stations, etc. Now, you are hard pressed to find them anywhere! Why? Because everyone has a cell phone. So if you don’t have a cell phone, you are pretty much out of luck when it comes to reaching someone when you are not home. In fact, it could be considered unsafe to be without a cell phone. People are afraid of each other. We don’t stop on the road to help someone who has their hood up because we are afraid of it being a ruse. Too many news stories flash through our minds about people who have been robbed and killed that way. So if something happens to our car on the highway, we pretty much need a cell phone for basic safety! What used to be a luxury has become a necessity.

But before the disappearance of phone booths, before the cell phone took over, there was the phenomenon called “keeping up with the Joneses.” This explains why many things are considered necessities. Not only do you need a cell phone, but you need the newest cell phone with the latest and greatest gizmos. Why? Because everyone has one. It’s the newest thing! Your functional cell phone just doesn’t seem enough anymore. It’s passé. It is why we need new living room furniture. It is why we need a bigger SUV. It is why we need the four bedroom house instead of the three, and why we throw that big birthday party for the kids, even though it’s going to stretch the budget far too much. It’s why we spend too much at Christmas, buying the kids piles of toys they’ll be tired of in a week because we want them to have really good answers when somebody asks “So what did you get for Christmas this year?”

Keeping up with the Joneses also means keeping in your rightful place in the hierarchy. Jim Jones might be a doctor, but you can drive a car just as nice as his! Jim takes a look at your car and thinks, “I’m a doctor, my car should be better than his!” And so begins the competition. It goes for everything… the birthday parties, the Christmas gifts, the clothes you wear, the house you buy. But no matter which neighborhood you move into, there are more Joneses to keep up with. It’s virtually impossible to do! Life begins to get complicated.

There are so many things you want, but not enough money to do it with. You have to work longer hours. You consider a second job. You take a new position that you don’t actually want because it pays a little more, and you need the cash. Things that seem so necessary, like designer jeans for your teenage daughter, a flat screen television, a bigger barbeque or renovations to the basement, start to weigh down on you. They are more of a burden than a joy, but somehow you can’t get out! You can’t just go backwards, can you? Once you are used to a certain standard of living, going without seems impossible! Besides, what would people think?

And that is the question that really aggravates you: what would people think? They’d think you weren’t really the person you said you were. They’d think you weren’t as well off as you made out to be. They’d think you’d failed. They’d think you were a fraud. Your family would think you were a fraud, and likely wouldn’t forgive you for taking away their things, or refusing them more things. Your kids would be resentful. Your spouse would be resentful. And the Joneses would talk behind their hands and eye you in delighted curiosity, wondering what it looked like when someone fell down the ladder. And so we accumulate more things. The label for this category is

materialism and nothing in our contemporary society is a greater barrier to spirituality.