The Story of Stuff and Stewardship

Our enormously productive economy... demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption... we need things consumed, burned up, replaced, and discarded at an ever-accelerating rate.

-Victor Lebow, Post WWII Economist and Retail Analyst

Wow. I read this quote in a video we watched in my Teaching in Modern Society class.

I learned about fair trade over the holiday season and have been growing in lot of aspects regarding stewardship and blessing others with the things the Lord has given me, but this video left me with my mouth wide open in my desk. If you have twenty minutes to spare, watch this.

Our level of consumption as Americans is basically destroying our environment, and the health of people all over the world. At first after watching the film I wanted to cry, there are so many things wrong with the linear system of consumption and it seems like a snowball effect that one girl is defenseless and powerless against.

But before you watch it, please consider the following: I'm no "Go Green" advocate, but it seems we can all make some changes in the way we live. I believe the purpose of God blessing us now is so that we can use it to bless others, not to buy more "stuff" ourselves. The Bible says in James 1:27, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." There is so much to be done it's overwhelming, but my prayer has been that we could each make small choices in doing our part to be good stewards of this planet and the people in it.

And rather focusing on all of the things we must stop or decrease, for example buying less junk, drinking from glasses instead of water bottles, throwing away less etc... how about looking at a few things we can do? (Though these things are good steps)

I watched this video and was very much encouraged:

By purchasing products that are made by organizations who are labeled as fair trade, like Trade as One, we can have a huge positive impact on employing the poor, providing them with livable wages, fostering environmental sustainability, while discouraging slavery and child labor. Wow that's a lot. For Christmas, I bought my sister these sandals, called Ssekos which allows these women to raise money for college. I realize all of these things still involve consumption, but after years and years of being trained to consume, we're not going to be able to change completely overnight; so why not be purposeful and intentional in the things we do buy?

People tell me I'm an "over-analyzer," that I over-think things way too much. "Oh to be young and passionate" sighed my mom when I shared all of this with her. I'm so thankful for her desire to not be a slave to consumption when we were growing up. She was passionate too, and those decisions she made due to her convictions have shaped who I am. When all of my friends were shopping at the mall for recreation, she encouraged playtime and honestly I never appreciated that until now. Some of my favorite childhood memories involve our family throwing a frisbee all evening long in the cul-de-sac. In the hustle and bustle of high school college life, I'd almost forgotten about these values she encouraged in us.

So that was a little off topic... anyway...

It's time to wake up and and be a better consumer, a better steward of the money, time, relationships, and planet the Lord has so graciously given me. Hope your eyes have been opened as well.