I don’t know why I am always surprised to find rich
possibilities for spiritual musing within the worldly, secular realm. It happens frequently and I am always
surprised! I should not be surprised
because I think almost all of us Americans live most of life in the midst of
secularity. Maybe the monks and the
recluses don’t, but most of us do. I
know I do…and I am a professor of religion!
Living life in the midst of secularity is not bad. But it is not spiritual either. I don’t think the Spirit is missing from the
secular world. But in the secular world,
most of us are not in touch with the Spirit and, probably, most of us may not
even be looking to get in touch with the Spirit.
This is what hit me as I was doing the most secular task of
all. I was reading the business section
recently in my daily newspaper. Of
course one does not expect to run smack into the Holy Spirit in the business
section! That happens on Saturday when
the paper runs a special page devoted to faith stuff.
But as always and everywhere in the secular world, the
Spirit lurks. It is always ready to lure
us into that special place of encounter.
That is what happened to me when I was innocently reading a story about
Walmart and Target. Some of the article
was interesting and some of it seemed funny to me. Like most Americans, I have been to both
stores. I don’t have a preference for
either one. Throw in Kmart, Kohl’s or
any of the rest and I don’t experience any excitement.
The article told me that 80% of the stuff in both Walmart
and Target is identical stuff. And it is
virtually the same price. I laughed when
a report from a recent Bloomberg Businessweek emerged that said the two
retailers were 46 cents apart on $100 spent in each store on the same
articles! (Go to Target if you want to
save the 46 cents!) I laughed and read
on in the article.
Then I hit the sentence where the Spirit lured me. Some woman, Natalie Gutierrez, is portrayed
as the “average customer.” She was
interviewed in some store in the Washington, DC area. “I already have everything I need,” Gutierrez
said. “But I always like to come in and
see if there’s something I may want.”
That is so American!
I give Natalie credit for knowing the difference between
needs and wants. I suspect most of us
confuse those things. Probably most of
us do, indeed, have everything we need.
But we think we need some more things we just want. I am sure I am guilty of this at times. And this is where it becomes a spiritual
issue for me.
Central to my spiritual belief is the conviction that I am a
child of God, that God loves me and that my relationship with God is unique and
special. And I think that is true for
you, too, even if you and the other seven billion people in the world don’t
know it. And obviously this fact about
you and me is not a commodity to be bought at Walmart or Target. In this sense I already have enough.
Of course, I need food and shelter to live. And we all need a certain amount of care,
love, support, etc. to make it through life.
That is a legitimate need. Like
Gutierrez, I already have enough. But I
also know the culture in which I live tempts me always to stop by to see if
there is something I may want. Putting
it this way fascinates me.
Gutierrez is saying that she does not even know if she
really does want something else. She is
drawn to shop in case she might see something “I may want.” This suggests that she is a sitting duck for
someone (Walmart or Target) telling her what she might want! This may seem harmless. Or it might imply an unhealthy
dependency. My relationship with the
Spirit causes me to be cautious of this vulnerability.
I am cautious because another aspect of my spirituality
tells me that anything other than the Spirit is not ultimately satisfying. This is not only true of material stuff. Most of us know that material stuff is not
ultimately satisfying. It is also true
of immaterial stuff, like relationships and commitments. I think this is what the biblical and
historical witness means by differentiating icons and idols. Icons connect us with the Spirit and idols
separate us and set us up ultimately for failure and dissatisfaction.
So what? This does
not mean I will quit going to Walmart or Target. They are not the problem. The problem is always myself. The spiritual journey is a journey of
self-discovery and Spirit-discovery. I
will find neither in Walmart or Target.
I know I have everything I need.
God has blessed me with a mind, heart and soul. They are gifts, just like my life is a gift.
This gift of life is all I need. But it is appropriate to have wants. I want to grow more and more into my
awareness of this gift and to deepen more and more into my appreciation of this
gift. Finally, I want to find ways to
give this gift to others. Because this
gift really is love, I cannot possibly give it all away. That is very different from Walmart and
Target. But they are not giving away
love. I am. God is.
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