Consume – Create – Contribute
These three words have been working their way around my brain over the past year. You can ask the parents at our home-school coop, we talked about this last fall. I don’t care for the thought of being a “good” human. Without the Holy Spirit, we struggle to do good or think outside ourselves. But I have become more aware over the last year that there seem to be three “C’s” at play in a lot of families, groups, churches, etc.
Do you only consume? We think a lot about being a consumer when it comes to retail, but do you apply it to other areas of life as well? Do you just consume food in your home, or do you contribute? Do you just consume at church, or do you volunteer? Do you just consume time from your friends to benefit you, or do you contribute? Do you just consume new products from Amazon, or do you create a new function for something old? Do you just consume information, or do you do something with it? Do you just consume anything and everything? Not all consumption is bad, but is it where you stop? Do you consume just for the sake of consuming? Is your consuming an escape from reality?
I love to create. I would not call myself an artist, but I like to sew, bake, crochet, quilt, etc. It calms me and helps to refocus my thoughts. It helps me feel productive on a day when not a lot went according to plan. It brings me joy to see someone use something I make. When a blanket becomes their favorite, or a caramel roll is what they dream about at night. I like to create music as well (not original). Playing the piano, learning guitar again, or perhaps singing along to the radio. There is a part of my mind, heart, soul, and body that engages differently when it is in a create mode.
Contribute is last, but not least. This is crucial to families, groups, churches, and countries. A quick google search can show that as little as 20% to as high as 40% of people volunteer in groups or churches. We all have something to contribute. We often look at other people and get intimidated or discouraged and think that we can’t do it like they can. And that is absolutely true, you can’t be them! You need to be you! God created us all with unique talents and gifts that come easily, and then there are the skills that come through life and challenges. All of these gifts, skills, and talents can be combined to contribute! Be all you can be! Don’t try to be someone else.
Sometimes it is the balance of the three of these that is the struggle. We can’t just assign each of them a 33.33333% value and keep it all the same all the time. Some seasons of life allow for more time to create or consume, and some seasons of life (think small toddlers) take a lot of effort and contribution from us on a daily basis. Often, I just need to re-asses and re-evaluate and start to be aware if one of these areas is getting out of hand! Which one is your default? Which is the easiest or hardest for you?