think before you buy

It seems like ages since I last blogged, but now there is something sufficiently on my heart to share! This past week my church has had a 24/7 prayer week. I took a few hours out of my daily routine to go and pray and was struck whilst praying and waiting on God by one thing in particular: how we in the West profit from other peoples' poverty. As I read the material in the church about struggling people, young and old, from around the developing world I couldn't help but feel a sense of injustice and anger that many of the brands and labels we wear or come into contact with every day exploit their employees! Here in the West we live in a 24/7, on demand, whatever we want society. Our diets are not determined by the seasons anymore because we import many of our produce from other countries; some of which even struggle to feed themselves. We want cheap clothes, yet that requires paying people a pittance in order to make a profit from it. There are people working in sweat shops and factories in places like India where even the electricity used to light the factory and power the machines is dangerous and could cause serious injury.

As a history teacher, I was made to reflect on our own industrial past and how for many decades people worked without health and safety regulations; children were exploited for cheap labour, many of whom died. We would no longer tolerate those types of working conditions now, yet we turn a blind eye to it in other parts of the world! I came to realise there is an aweful amount of hypocrisy in our society. So what is the solution? Playing ignorant to the plight and suffering around the world, which we directly benefit from is not an option. It is unacceptable. Yes there are innitiatives such as 'fair trade', which gives farmers and workers a fair price and wage for their work. This should be a basic human right of everyone. But it is only the beginning. Greed is at the heart of the problem. It is the greed of corporations and businesses that charge high prices yet pay unacceptably low wages. Greed is not only a poison, which can infect the human heart, but it is also called idolatry in the Bible. So who do you serve? As Jesus taught, no one can serve two masters; so who do you serve? The most High God and His Son Jesus? Or money and our own greedy desire for an afluent, comfortable existence?

So next time you're in the supermarket or in your favourite clothes shop, just bear in mind will your choices deny others of their rights to a decent wage and living standard? Now I am no saint, and I am no martyr either; these are matters of consciousness that I am still grappling with myself. I feel strongly that it is right to support charities in the work they do to supporting the vulnerable of this world, as well as buying fair trade, but perhaps more needs to be done. Perhaps it is time for us to become more politically active in reaching out to our government to try and make positive changes in the wider international community? Seek God, listen to your conscience and do what is right to prevent injustice and exploitation.