Christianity and the Consumer

Posted by David | Filed under Spirituality

Having only worked in retail for a mere 5 months, I am amazed at the lack of courtesy and respect customers show the store — Christian customers. The very fact that they express their faith in words or purchases, but not in professional actions, is hypocrisy. Perhaps the idea of shopping is so self or goal-focused that they forget just how many people are watching their actions.

Among the most common scenarios are (1) customers that apparently need a specific Bible so bad that they’re willing yell at employees and other shoppers alike to get one, (2) customers that cannot treat items carefully while shopping, and (3) customers that feel they take precedence over any other shopper in the store.

Every consumer should follow the rule of reciprocal respect, ie “treat me the same way I treat you,” but Christians have held themselves to a higher standard by the mere declaration of their faith in a public setting. So, this Christmas, I beg you, be courteous to employees, even if his attitude is as annoying as the bad day you’ve had. Follow the guidelines of the store, even when you’re 99% sure that unwrapping a book won’t change your decision to purchase it. And, most importantly, treat other customers with the same respect you demand from the store. It’s really not that hard.

I’ll get off my soapbox now.

Permalink | October 8th, 2003

One Response to “Christianity and the Consumer”

  1. Nick Says:
    February 2nd, 2004 at 10:03 pm

    I find it amazing that someone would yell at someone over something as seemingly trivial as aquiring a specific Bible. It seems to me that modern consumerism takes away the very humanity of the common, everyday shopper. People who would otherwise in other situations treat people with respect and courtesy become demons in a shopping environment. It seems that we have become so indoctrinated with the ideas that we must consume, and we have the right to consume exactly what we want (be it food, clothes, music, Bibles, etc) that anyone who tells us otherwise must be interfering with a god given right. It really is a sad state of affairs.