As Thanksgiving week is upon us, and stores have been hyping the Christmas buying season since October, I interrupt our time in John for a very timely message for us all:

Stop buying!

Don’t take it from me, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, is urging Americans to put off buying big-ticket items, according to this article in BecomingMinimalist. I encourage you to read the entire piece, which contains these seven helpful steps to avoid succumbing to high-pressure marketing:

1. Realize the promises of consumerism are always short-lived. I have to quote what they say here because it’s powerful: Every upcoming advertisement during the holiday season will promise you the same thing: a better life. They will work to convince you that their latest product will make you more attractive, will bring you more friends, will create a more beautiful holiday season, or will bring happiness that you can’t find anywhere else. Those promises are false. (Emphasis mine)
2. Consider the benefits of owning less.
3. Know that money on-hand will be more helpful to ride out a recession than a purchase at the mall.
4. Set a budget for this holiday season (and stick to it).
5. Turn off marketing messages.
6. Don’t fall into a scarcity mindset.
7. Look for people you can help.

(All from When the Founder of Amazon Encourages You to Stop Buying… by Joshua Becker)

Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” (Luke 12.15, NLT)

Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life. (1 Timothy 6.17 – 19, NLT)