teal simplification
In a pursuit of fresh, raw oysters (which we found for half the usual price and twice the usual pleasure!), Baine and I endured a sea of tourists at Pike’s Place Market yesterday, and I took some not-great pictures of this display in one of the shop windows…
Is anyone else struck by the irony of this message?
From this particular display, it seems that the definition of “simplify” is to be lazy (recline in your lawn chair) and purchase a disgusting teal (sorry to the teal-lovers; it’s just not my color!) hat, t-shirt, jacket, pants, flip flops, & hand bag that were all made from slave labor in a sweatshop in China using synthetic materials and toxic dyes that kill both the environment (on which our survival is dependent, whether we Americans want to accept that or not!) and people (whom we, the American consumers, don’t mind killing because we don’t have to see their faces, but if we do, we’ll just throw some money at a relief organization to appease our conscience).
Can you feel my anger? I hope so. I’M ANGRY that we are so blind. I think Jesus would be turning over tables and spitting our capitalistic hoarding out of his mouth. We are so blind. It makes me FURIOUS that, despite Jesus’ direct and repeated statements about the severe dangers of wealth, the American church chooses to obsess and argue over issues like homosexuality, abortion, divorce, alcohol… Of course, these are all valid issues that should be discussed, but how can we be so blind to and SILENT about our own sin?! How can we be so blind to Jesus’ constant warnings about wealth and power?
Of course, we all know the “money can’t get you into heaven” sermon. If we really believe that, why do we spend so much (sometimes all) of our time and energy around money and consuming as much as humanly possible? Is anyone else aware that we are the WEALTHIEST nation in the world? Given Jesus’ warnings about money and faith, does this not shake anyone else up?
Please hear that I am not making a statement on whether it is right or wrong for a person (or country!) to be wealthy. It seems that there are believers in the Bible who are both rich and poor. What I am asking is for us to LOOK at ourselves, our culture, our churches. To genuinely pray the words of Psalm 139:23-24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Ignorance cannot be an excuse for us. We are educated and have access to more information than we could ever need. The information is there. But we are choosing not to look. I am asking you to LOOK… to have courage… to be willing to change for the sake of the world, for the sake of your own salvation, for the sake of Christ!
Having said ALL of that, I know that while it’s pretty easy to yell and criticize, it’s much harder to think about alternatives. There is no easy solution, of course, and my thoughts about that would turn this entry into a book. For now, I will say that, at the end of my ranting, I find myself personally challenged and inspired (as cliché’ as it is) by this saying:
“Live simply so that others may simply live.”
That is the most un-American concept that ever existed. For example, one of our most recent and brilliant economy-boosting schemes is to give everyone extra money in their tax-refund and encourage them to SHOP – to consume more crap that we don’t need so that we can make more money at the expense of the LIVES of people in other parts of the world! Yes, of course, this can succeed in boosting our economy, but what about the rest of the dying, starving world (which will soon include US if we don’t freaking wake up and start living differently)?
Is it not, first and foremost, OUR privilege and responsibility as Christians – followers of the Christ who dedicated his life to serving the poor and oppressed – to do something about this? Does that “doing something” not include personal sacrifice? And yet we are so blind and so unwilling…
Obviously, I could go on about this for a long time. (For those of you who have humored me in reading this... Thank you!) Of course, everything that I just wrote is incomplete, but it is a start. Please share your thoughts and comments – BOTH sides of the coin. I want to hear your thoughts.
Is anyone else struck by the irony of this message?From this particular display, it seems that the definition of “simplify” is to be lazy (recline in your lawn chair) and purchase a disgusting teal (sorry to the teal-lovers; it’s just not my color!) hat, t-shirt, jacket, pants, flip flops, & hand bag that were all made from slave labor in a sweatshop in China using synthetic materials and toxic dyes that kill both the environment (on which our survival is dependent, whether we Americans want to accept that or not!) and people (whom we, the American consumers, don’t mind killing because we don’t have to see their faces, but if we do, we’ll just throw some money at a relief organization to appease our conscience).
Can you feel my anger? I hope so. I’M ANGRY that we are so blind. I think Jesus would be turning over tables and spitting our capitalistic hoarding out of his mouth. We are so blind. It makes me FURIOUS that, despite Jesus’ direct and repeated statements about the severe dangers of wealth, the American church chooses to obsess and argue over issues like homosexuality, abortion, divorce, alcohol… Of course, these are all valid issues that should be discussed, but how can we be so blind to and SILENT about our own sin?! How can we be so blind to Jesus’ constant warnings about wealth and power?
Of course, we all know the “money can’t get you into heaven” sermon. If we really believe that, why do we spend so much (sometimes all) of our time and energy around money and consuming as much as humanly possible? Is anyone else aware that we are the WEALTHIEST nation in the world? Given Jesus’ warnings about money and faith, does this not shake anyone else up?
Please hear that I am not making a statement on whether it is right or wrong for a person (or country!) to be wealthy. It seems that there are believers in the Bible who are both rich and poor. What I am asking is for us to LOOK at ourselves, our culture, our churches. To genuinely pray the words of Psalm 139:23-24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Ignorance cannot be an excuse for us. We are educated and have access to more information than we could ever need. The information is there. But we are choosing not to look. I am asking you to LOOK… to have courage… to be willing to change for the sake of the world, for the sake of your own salvation, for the sake of Christ!
Having said ALL of that, I know that while it’s pretty easy to yell and criticize, it’s much harder to think about alternatives. There is no easy solution, of course, and my thoughts about that would turn this entry into a book. For now, I will say that, at the end of my ranting, I find myself personally challenged and inspired (as cliché’ as it is) by this saying:
“Live simply so that others may simply live.”
That is the most un-American concept that ever existed. For example, one of our most recent and brilliant economy-boosting schemes is to give everyone extra money in their tax-refund and encourage them to SHOP – to consume more crap that we don’t need so that we can make more money at the expense of the LIVES of people in other parts of the world! Yes, of course, this can succeed in boosting our economy, but what about the rest of the dying, starving world (which will soon include US if we don’t freaking wake up and start living differently)?
Is it not, first and foremost, OUR privilege and responsibility as Christians – followers of the Christ who dedicated his life to serving the poor and oppressed – to do something about this? Does that “doing something” not include personal sacrifice? And yet we are so blind and so unwilling…
Obviously, I could go on about this for a long time. (For those of you who have humored me in reading this... Thank you!) Of course, everything that I just wrote is incomplete, but it is a start. Please share your thoughts and comments – BOTH sides of the coin. I want to hear your thoughts.
Laurie,
ReplyDeleteYou and I have talked so much about this... and it is something I continue to challenge myself with everyday. At times, I get frustrated living in the South because it seems that no one is interested in change. But other times, I'm grateful that the world is finally putting some emphasis on this topic. We have a HUGE responsibility to take care of what God has given us... and that exists in our neighborhoods, our cities, our country, and our world. Another cliche' "with knowledge there is power." I believe that with the knowledge we have about what has been happening to our world, we know how the power to change it. As for consuming-- AMEN!! Thank you so much for posting this! I think your blog will be a great voice to others. Oh yeah- the pictures of Anotonio are SOOO sweet. I would love to meet him sometime.
Sorry... another thing. MY friend, JR, recently put a post on his blog that I thought would interest you. Check it out here.
ReplyDeletehttp://lifeasmission.com/blog/2008/05/23/genocide-and-consumerism/
I'd be interested in your feedback. Love you!
Hey Laurie, I'm the JR Liz mentioned. I am with her, great post. The distinction between salvation and issues of social justice for most Christians is a false dichotomy that far too few understand and which the church in western culture, at least generally speaking, is ill equipped to address. You have every right in the world to be pissed off - it puts you on Jesus' side actually. The more important questions, however, might have to do with how God might use us to help the church recapture a holistic vision of the salvation embodied and died for. Thanks for your thought - look forward to reading more. Feel free to stop by my place anytime, lifeasmission.com. Peace.
ReplyDelete