My colleague Wendy Koch wrote in our GreenHouse community about Annie Leonard, an author and environmentalist who's made a movie and a book about how Americans have too much stuff. Not only is consumerism "trashing the planet," but it's also consuming our lives, she argues:

In the United States, we work more hours than folks in almost any other industrialized country in the world, and two of our main activities in our scant leisure time are TV watching and shopping," she writes. "So we go to work, come home exhausted, and plop down in front of the TV; commercials tell us we need new stuff, so we go shopping, and in order to pay for it all, we have to work even more.

Beyond the impacts on the environment or family priorities, where does "stuff" fit into faith? Everyone's familiar with 1 Timothy 6:10 which says "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil," aimed at folks who love of stuff more than they love God. And Matthew 6:19-20 speaks directly to possessions:

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven ...

DO YOU THINK it's a sin to buy stuff, to go out to eat, for instance, instead of donating to a food bank? There's only so much we need, beyond that should our money be going to those who don't have what they need? Share your views and experiences below:

--Anne Godlasky, USA TODAY