Have you ever been involved in a class action lawsuit? Many of us have and often involuntarily. From deceptive advertising claims by the shoe company Sketchers, to the famous case of Airborne that claimed to give you immunity from colds, to the additive Olestra used in potato chips to make them zero fat – but which also caused incredible stomach cramping, class actions are useful to get companies to change deceptive or dangerous practices. Some however, are frivolous and benefit the lawyers that bring the case rather than the people who have been harmed or cheated.
My Google newsfeed sent me a story about a class action lawsuit for the PlayStation 3 – a gaming console produced by Sony. Ethan bought one a few years back from a store that sells used devices. We use it for video games, DVDs, Netflix and YouTube. When the PlayStation 3 (PS3) came out, the U.S. Air Force took 1,700 of them, linked them together, and used them as a server for demonstration purposes in place of their air traffic control. According to the suit, the PS3 was advertised as being like a computer. Some units came with an OS port; the next wave did not. The suit alleges Sony misled consumers by removing the OS port and not telling anyone the units were no longer like the ones the Air Force linked. The law firm was paid 400k. Consumers can each receive a check for $65. I was intrigued. This seemed like an easy $65 check for Ethan. But, as they say, the devil was in the details. The three pages of paperwork say I have to agree to a number of things. First, the PS3 must have been purchased through an “authorized retailer.” While our store was an authorized retailer, we bought it used. I did not like the implications of saying we bought it from an authorized dealer. It seemed like a lie. Second you had to say you saw advertisements claiming the PS3 is a computer. I don’t remember seeing such advertising. Third, you had to want the OS port. That was not true for us. Fourth, you must state that if you knew before hand it didn’t have an OS port, you wouldn’t have purchased it. Again, not true for us. The ethical dilemma? The only point for which we qualify is that Ethan’s PS3 doesn’t have the OS port. Here are the facts. The law firm received a whole bunch of money and is having a hard time finding claimants. The expiration date is April 15. Sony is a huge company. They messed up by removing the port and not telling consumers that they did. $65 is a nice windfall for a 15-year-old. So what’s the big deal. Here’s the problem. By applying for the money, we would have to enter misleading, if not false, information on the claim form. And, Ethan’s dad during Lent is buying nothing new. Can I rationalize that I get to reap the benefits of an advertising mishap? Alas, that’s not the deal. Would anyone know? No. Would Sony really care? Probably not. But someday I will be face to face with God who sees a lot more than Sony. God will know that I took an ethical, albeit small, side step to win a $65 judgment. Jesus asks us, “What good is it to gain the whole world and lose your soul in the process.” If this money was needed to pay our mortgage, or put food on the table, it might be a different story. But we’ve been blessed. I don’t need to trade a small part of my soul to get the check from Sony. They can keep their money and I can keep myself unstained in this small way from the world. Sounds like a good trade to me. -Fr. Dave Do you find it odd the second commandment is to not make an idol? The first, I am the Lord your God, have no other gods but me, makes sense. But the second, make no idols, makes God sound jealous and a bit insecure. After all, if we follow the first command, then why would we need the second?
Let’s face it, humans like to make idols. When the New Testament was being written, there were many idols for many gods. The people would put their faith into hand-made idols one – some for healing, others for abundant crops, some for fertility and so on. As people learned about Jesus, they wanted to bring their idols along; but, they were told to abandon them. A study of Egyptian history shows a cavalcade of idols and statues of both earthly and heavenly gods. The framers of the Constitution knew human nature so they prohibited kings and the idolization of the President. George Washington, who could have won a third presidential election, declined to run because some wanted to make him King. I went to a college founded by the Order of St. Benedict. Starting in the early sixth century, Benedict’s rule of life has two major parts: letting go of earthly belongings and living a life of prayer and labor. My favorite professor, Fr. Killian, is an avid runner. At least once a year, his family would send him a new pair of running shoes. He would take the Nike box, hand it to his Abbot and say, “This is an offering for our community.” The Abbot would inspect the contents and say, “The community is best served by your wearing these so that you may run with Jesus.” The monks lived an idealized, not an idolized, life. Jesus gave Benedict the idea that one can live in harmony with nature, God, and humanity by rejecting consumeristic impulses, doing labor for God, and praying often. They lived into St. Peter’s blessing, May grace and peace by yours in abundance. (1 Peter 1:2) The fewer possessions, the more peace and grace they had. I want to tell you that because I have purchased nothing new for thirty-two days, and have turned away from McDonalds, Starbucks (except once), and other food establishments that advertise, I have grace and peace in abundance. But that’s not true. I am unsettled because I have discovered other idols in my heart. My phone needs rebooting/cache cleaning daily now. I am counting the days until Easter so I can buy a new one. I looked at used models, which, by my own Lenten rule, I could buy today. Yet, here are my idols – I feel like I deserve a new phone. I have lived for three years with a used Note 4 and it’s time for something nice for myself. … because I deserve it. And I “deserve a break today” at McDonalds. And I deserve Starbucks. My idol is the “I Deserve” syndrome. It’s like I have erected a statue in my heart called iDeserve. It’s insatiable. The idol whispers, “Come on, you work hard, you’re self-less, you deserve this.” The truth is I am a servant of the Lord and servants don’t deserve special thanks for doing what they are supposed to do. (Luke 17:9) I am starting to turn away from the iDeserve idol and know that God will meet our every need out of the riches of God’s glory that is found in Jesus. (Phil 4:19) As a result of the identifying and turning away, I have received an abundance of God’s grace. I have an abundance of peace with the knowledge that I don’t get what I deserve because of my sin; instead, I receive God’s love. My prayer is that you be filled with God’s grace and peace in abundance this Lenten season. -Fr. Dave As Lent slogs on, I am learning more about my desire to purchase things; the overall picture is not flattering. A new GMC SUV zoomed past me this morning on Telegraph Canyon. It was a boring grey, rather boxy and uninspiring. Yet, I noticed a paper license plate indicating it is brand new. I thought, I wonder what the owner of that new vehicle saw in it. Oh, they must have gotten a good deal. Yes, the art of the good deal. Going back to my un-Lenten purchase of a fancy stainless steel, touchless open, kitchen garbage can, it was a good deal and I wanted to get it before the sale ran out (or before someone else took mine). As my readers know, I have resolved not to buy anything new during Lent to confront our pervasive advertising culture and to step back from competing with my neighbor. Advertising makes us feel in competition with one another. At the heart of this competition is the art of the good deal. It’s a good deal if everyone else bought it for X price; but, if you can get it for less than X everyone before you is a chump and you are one savvy shopper. So it boils down to a lie the ego buys into, purchasing makes you happier and will make you better than others.
When I was selling audio/video devices, people would ask for “a good deal.” One shopper, interested in a particular product that was so popular we could hardly keep it in stock, asked for a bargain and announced, “I only buy things at a discount.” I asked, “Why do you deserve a better price than everyone else.” He huffed and walked away. That is his rule of life. I wonder if he shows people around his house and announces how much of a discount he received for each item without realizing he is showing off to the very people he is competing with. Speaking of good deals, I am the guy who reaches past the first gallon of milk to get the one behind. I look for the newest tag on a loaf of bread and search for the freshest carrots. I justify my actions because I have seen how much grocery stores throw away in expired products. Yet, this searching may be a result of my competitive shadow side. Ego again? In most cases, the first item I touch is just fine. Have you ever found a seat on an airplane and then wondered how much each person paid for their ticket? Knowing my shadow-side, I would like to hear what everyone paid so I could see how I rank. I do not think we need to institute a communist style pricing structure – I am simply exploring my need to get a good deal and how my ego’s need can get in the way of loving my neighbor as much as myself. This Lenten practice is causing me to explore areas of myself I’d rather not look at. Nevertheless, my shadow-side is known to Jesus; and he loves me despite my consumeristic competitive tendencies. St. Paul wrote that we – you and I – were purchased by a price from God, therefore, do not get enslaved to others. (1 Cor 7:23) I’d add that Paul says we shouldn’t become slaves to the good deal, or the competition it takes to find it. Jesus didn’t look for the best deal when he bought us, nor can we produce a result worthy of the purchase. Yet, because of God’s Grace, we are loved and accepted for who we are. No bargaining, competition, or comparison is required. -Fr. Dave The message at Saint John’s this past Sunday was it’s okay if you are not okay. I think there was a time in recent Church history when people went to church out of obligation to keep up appearances. That time has passed. The Church today is for the sick, the tired, the overwhelmed, the unsure, the scared and lonely.
There are many things I am not okay with – starting with gun violence, and the same old reactions that do nothing more than entrench and divide. I am not okay with the number of children dying from the flu. I am not okay with reports that police officers are being shot on and off duty. I am not okay with how uncivilized we Americans have become to those who hold differing opinions. Yet, I am okay to worship God, believe and acknowledge that God has the whole world in his hands, and still admit that I’m not okay about this stuff. I am not okay with the pervasive and unending consumerist messages I receive on a daily basis. For Lent, I am taking a long hard look at why I want to buy new things. The inescapable message of our day is this – if I’m not feeling okay, buying something will make me feel okay. That’s a lie, but it’s repeated enough that I sometimes believe it. Or used to believe it, or am trying not to believe it. Nevertheless, I’m not okay with it. While I have been typing, I have received an email from Costco about their latest deals, and from Best Buy about smart phone deals. My phone, a Samsung Note 4 has been acting up. The battery is draining faster, the first couple minutes of a phone call can best be described as sputtering, and loading apps is difficult. My theory is that each time Samsung comes out with a new phone, they send updates to the older models that slow them down. (Incidentally, the S9 is about to be available in stores. When does Lent end again?) Apple was found guilty of this practice last year when suddenly older model iPhones started having battery troubles. What I am not okay about is that the trick worked. I started looking up replacement phones. I compared the Note 8 to the S9 to the Pixel II. Suddenly I’m getting emails about phones. My dad is the champion of making things work that others would just as soon replace. When he was a teacher, he didn’t give up on students that others deemed a waste of time. I can do house and car repairs because he taught me the value of investigating and fixing instead of replacing. I checked for articles about what to do if your phone is slowing down. There are fixes that helped. My phone is better and an $800 replacement pushed toward the horizon. Would I have simply replaced if it wasn’t Lent? The price tag is too much so probably not. But, I would have let it haunt me for a while. I would have given it space in my brain and then felt bad about myself because I can’t underwrite a new phone when other bills are coming due. Jesus doesn’t give up on us, or replace us for better models. When phones break, promotions fall through, layoffs happen, addictions tear us down, when break-ups and divorce occur, God doesn’t abandon us. In fact, when others want replacements, God seems to be even closer. I imagine the devil sends Jesus all sorts of advertisements and temptations about creating something new, but the Gospel message is clear – God works with what he’s got, makes all things new, and restores us to being okay again. -Fr. Dave |