Monday Morning Confessional

I confess that I am not a consumer I am a steward. I confess that we do not live in a world of scarcity, but a world of abundance. I confess these things with my mouth, and believe them in my heart. I confess that too often I do not live as though they are true.

I confess that I am obsessing over Bethge’s biography of Bonhoeffer. I want to buy it really badly but it is $33. Even used it is $25, which is still a lot for a book. I’ve been watching for a cheap used copy to pop-up for six months but it hasn’t happened. I further confess that I want to buy a copy of After Virtue by Alasdair MacIntyre, but a new one is $22. That’s pretty steep for a new book. I can get a used one for around $14, but the ones listed on Amazon/half.com all seem to be in pretty bad shape.

I confess that my consumerism manifests itself primarily in book buying.

I confess that I have $150 in Amazon gift certificate money on my account right now. I confess that since it is such a good amount, I find myself gripping while trying to decide what books to purchase. I confess that I’ve been carrying around a well-worn book list for over a month now. It’s on a little index card I keep in my journal or jacket. I confess that the list contains more than $150 in books.

I confess that I have four iTunes gift cards totaling $75: two for $25, one for $15, and one for $10. I confess that some of these are over 2 years old. I confess that I have not used them because I keep thinking there might be something I really want to buy, but if I have already spent the gift cards I won’t be able to justify spending the money.

I confess that my scarcity manifests itself primarily in the use of gift certificates.

I confess that this is my well worn book list:

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: a Biography – Eberhard Bethge and Victoria Barnett

After Virtue – Alasdair MacIntyre

Simply Jesus – N.T. Wright

Allah – Miroslav Volf

The Talmud

Bird by Bird – Anne LaMott

Critique of Pure Reason – Kant

Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime – Immanuel Kant

Bonhoeffer CW, Vol. 7 – Fiction from Tegel Prison – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Bonhoeffer CW, Vol. 8 – Letters and Papers from Prison – Dietrich Bonhoeffer