Again - I’ll be typing notes directly here - unedited with the same goal of reacting to this incredibly relevant discussion about a purchase mentality versus a practice mentality… (I pray these notes bless you as much as it blessed me to be take them down… this was a fabulous session, I’ve become a huge fan of Andy Crouch).

Trying to make sense of the nature of consumer culture - how informed we are of consumer culture. A helpful exercise is to contrast two phrases:

  1. Playing a CD - listen to classics, easy, electric power, passive, shared attention, distance, create an atmosphere, variety of instruments, little investment (money), aural only, reproduce what is already composed, capturing of the best (idealized… looser relationship to reality), every play will reproduce the same sounds, comforting solidity to the experience
  2. Playing a violin - listen to me, skill, no power necessary, active, singular attention, presence, create an atmosphere, this will only make sounds a violin can make, much investment, physical and tactile as well as aural, composition, mistakes are usually inherent in the play (non-idealized because it is actually happening), violin will always create a unique experience each time, experience is transitory

Reality, Music, and Time (read this book)

Defense for CD being better of the two: conservation, liner notes (interpretation), availability (Albert Borgmann), inspiration/aspiration

Defense for violin being better of the two: relevance and adaptation/communication, incarnational/embodied, immersion in physical presence not comparable to a recording, personal involvement and expression, reward for the person who spent the time to perfect the craft.

Satisfaction over time (graph - satisfaction as Y axis and time as X axis).

  1. CD - initial satisfaction is high and it might go up or down a little on initial play, but the satisfaction likely wanes over time (though there are likely some that do not follow this pattern… but those will not be the norm)
  2. Violin - initial satisfaction is usually quite low but usually increases over time (though there may be plateaus and bumps over time) - you usually end up enjoying it more over time

Perfecting a skill or an art is the most rewarding of these things over time.

CD curve is the reward curve of purchases. Violin curve is the reward curve of practices. Consumerism calls you to follow the reward curve of purchases. This repetitive curve is also a curve that mirrors addiction. In the long run, the person who depends on their practices has far greater satisfaction than the one who depends on purchases.

Is there a Biblical model that reflects this? YES! Christ told us that the one who tries to find his life will lose it, but the one who loses his life will find it. This is a reflection of these two models. Finding fulfillment in a consumer model will not create true satisfaction while finding fulfillment in a practice model will create lasting satisfaction. The way to joy is through suffering.

Practices = Disciplines

Practices can actually heighten purchases. Embracing pain for the long road will actually create greater economical reward.

Only through discipline can one gain freedom.

Are we teaching our churches this truth or are we maintaining the hedonic curve of purchases from Sunday to Sunday?

This is life or death for our culture.

The first Hostess Twinkie can be a transcendant experience, but we cannot go there for true nourishment; however, the economic culture capitalizes on this pleasure and attempts to drive us towards it and also cheapens pleasure.

A few questions to ask ourselves:

  1. Is the story I’m telling myself really true?
  2. Am I being discerning about my choices?
  3. We need a community to help us process

We must have discernment, community, and oversight.

Book to read - Peterson’s Long Obedience.

Be wary of any absolutist position.