The World According To Chris Brewer

God bless America, my home sweet home. Land of the free, home of the brave. The best country in the entire world…

…and also the country that has the dubious distinction of being the most materialistic people on the planet.

If you work retail like I do, it’s a good bet that the company you work for does not pay you well, yet expects customers who probably are in the same boat as yourself to transfer their hard-earned cash to your establishment in exchange for a product that always promises more than it delivers.

If you ever visit a retail store of any sort, you will more than likely find yourself visually bombarded by sleek advertisements featuring attractive people that in essence scream at you to buy a product that, as mentioned before, promises more than it will ever be of value to you, the consumer.

If you ever watch any amount of television, you will notice more and more of your favorite programming is being cut into by companies who pay top dollar to advertise that product that, dare I repeat it, promises more than anything you’ll ever do with it.

Personal story time. I walked through the mall yesterday while waiting for Evin to get off of work so we could drink coffee together, and I saw more foot traffic throughout the place than is normal. Of course, it’s the holiday season. That time of year where consumers are out in full force to buy this year’s “must-buy” item. And also the time of year when the stores do whatever they can to get you to indulge in whatever they have to offer — and blow your hard-earned money in the process.

Anyway, as I was walking through the mall I began to get this feeling that it was the first time I ever really hated the mall. Not because of lack of aesthetics or some downtrodden person I had a chance conversation with, but rather the fact that I was being visually screamed at to buy, Buy, BUY SOMETHING AS IF YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT IT.

Working retail makes me see it all the more. Most customers I deal with swipe credit cards. In my book, the term credit card is defined as borrowed money that you don’t have and most of the time can’t pay off anytime soon. These people are buying something they more than likely don’t need, with some money they more than likely don’t even have.

What I’m really scared about is all the young people today. I’m talking 18-25, those fresh out of the nest and making their own life decsions. With freedom comes responsibility, but take a good look in a young guy’s wallet or young female’s purse and they have store credit cards and major bank credit cards up the wazoo. Betcha some of those credit cards are somehow being used to pay other credit cards off.

Basically what I am trying to say with all this, being so across the board as I am in this post, is that we as humans see something, we want it, and we’re going to do whatever we can to get it. We grow up in a culture that preaches buy stuff, treat yourself the best you possibly can, look out for #1, and do what you can to make sure your life is as comfortable as you can make it.

There’s one problem with that, and that’s the fact that God has called each one of us to treat others the best we possibly can, look out for our brothers and sisters, and live a life that sacrifices comfort to benefit others.

Next time you go to the mall, take a good look at all the advertisements and hoopla surrounding what each store has to offer, and think about what God has called each one of us to do.

Or, if you don’t want to think about that, simply remind yourself that what you’re about to buy is massively overpriced. In most instances, at least.

We would all do good to take Karl Malone’s advice. Invest your money!