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Here is another great problem with our society in relation to our wealth. Our attitude.
(Please read this, despite it's length it has something people need to know.)
We all know that a majority of people in this country, and indeed much of the western world are rich. Although many of us may think we are poor in relation to the people around us, we are still taking 3 times our fair share of the worlds wealth. There is only one way in which the western world is going to start backtracking, and thats if we start with ourselves. If we don't have the motivation to do anything, then how can we ever expect anyone else to be persuaded.
I think as Christians it is a perfect chance to be an example. To show that we are concerned for the world God has made, and the people that live in it. So many of us, even Christians live everyday the same as any non-Christian. We pollute the same amount, we are just as rich if not richer than many non-Christians. Many of us even exploit the poor countries through the products we buy in complete ignorance as to which sweat shop its been produced in. How many of us think about these things when we shop? Do we think "How has this product been made, and who am i supporting when i buy this?" or do we think "Oo. . that Columbian chocolate looks nice. . .I'll have that!".
We are always told that we need to stand out and be an example, yet so many of us have fallen into the trap of living the same lifestyle as the non-Christians. We may live different lives, but our lifestyle needs to be different too. So many of us have been caught up in the Capitalist way of life that we must succeed, we must get possessions, we must get ahead of the other guy, get that promotion, status, you name it. So what then do we make of what Jesus' says in Matthew 6: "Do not lay up treasures for yourself on earth"? How many of us do this? Whether we know it or not?
 (We all spend money in shops that specialize in selling us exactly what we don't need, but give us what we want)
I think we've all forgotten one of the principals of the Christian life, and its something that is not, but should be addressed in churches. We are not taking care of God's world.
Looking after God's world was the reason he made man. He made Adam to look after everything he had made. We are destroying, and corrupting God's world more and more everyday, and in most cases, its impossible to tell the Christians from the non-Christians as the culprits. We Christians in England live rich, and comfortable lives, yet how much do we complain about taxes and fuel prices? How much more do we have than thousands of other people in the world? We've got caught up in the non-Christian lifestyle, and seen to forget that its bad thing. We need to step out of that lifestyle. We need to be the ones to start stepping down like i said in my last entry. The only way things will begin to change is if Christians go back to the basics of looking after God's world, and its people. Not chasing the same goals of the non-Christians.
In stepping down, we are separating ourselves even further from the rest of the world. We'll be completely going against the flow. But isn't that what we're meant to be doing already? "Consider how we can live with less, so others can have more". Don't choose the high prestige career, choose a simpler life.
 (Literally, money doesn't grow on trees, but it is that easy to get hold of. We just pretend it isn't because we've lost all perspective of what "hard" actually is)
Now when we think about it, we realize our sinful hearts. The more you think about it, the more annoyed you'll get because you'll see that the goal you've been chasing, are currently chasing, or are intending to chase (be it occupation, whatever) is not the way forward. The question is, are we going to be selfish like the rest of the world? Or step back and actually try to do something for the poor? We all know every step up for us, is a step down for someone else. How much of what we do is exploiting others?
There are those of us that think we aren't really doing anything to make the world worse, but aren't really doing anything to help it either. Well the more we don't do anything, the more we're making it worse. Its so easy to say "The government must take action", but how can we expect a non-Christian government to do anything? I've mentioned in previous entries about how they exploit the poor, and we all know thats not about to stop. We also can't expect the "rich" to pay extra. We can say "make celebrities pay more, because they are rich", but we must also make sacrifices. We can't draw the line at our own income. Everyone is poor in their own eyes, so therefore who is rich? We're always first to point the finger at the rich, but you never know whose pointing a different finger at you.
We've got to step down, and give to the poor, whatever our income. If we don't, thats hypocrisy. Like i said at the start, the majority of the people in the country are actually "stupidly rich", and thats the problem. We might consider ourselves poor, but we still take more than our fair share.
The response we will get from this is negative. Like everything else in the Christian life, it always goes against the flow of what the rest of the world is doing. In more cases than not, if you're not going against the flow, something is wrong. This idea threatens everything we've worked for, and no-one wants to step back from their achievements. If Christians won't do it, how can anyone blame non-Christians if they don't comply? aren't we supposed to set the example?
So in conclusion. Christians are just as responsible for poverty as non-Christians, and therefore i think that its our duty to do our best to fix this issue. We can all say "you can't tell people to give everything up", but where did this "you just can't" attitude come from? It comes from our desire to hold on to our "treasures", and are deep down inside looking for the best excuse to push the problem away. The simple fact of the matter is, we can should be telling people they need to be poorer. Heres a fact to think about: The majority of the world lives off $2 a day
I probably spent ten times that amount on the last t-shirt i bought.
We can afford to cut back
Cheers Za
(This entry is a combination of mine and Jeremy's ideas and points)
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| | Posted 3/31/2007 6:48 AM - 48 Views - 6 eProps - 2 comments
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