11.24.2014

Life Isn't Fair, But We Can Be

It's what we all really want, and the elusive thing we seek, when we fight for justice. FAIRNESS. We think: work hard and it should pay off; do good, get goodness; follow the rules and laws, and live free.

But TRUTH is? Life isn't always fair. For millions and millions of people, life has never been fair. They were born into UNFAIRNESS. I'm learning just how truly unfair it is for people born outside the USA. Recently, I joined a women's Bible study group, and we began reading Jen Hatmaker's book, Interrupted: When Jesus Wrecks Your Comfortable Christianity. Have you read this book? It will WRECK YOU. At least, it has wrecked me. It has turned my perspectacles upside down and backwards, and it has confirmed a direction my heart had forgotten but is excitedly remembering. It has added fuel to a fire in me that was dormant for many years.

When I was younger, I had missionary dreams, and I had dreams of building housing for the homeless. Simply, I had dreams of helping others, which were inspired by serving God. But as I grew into an adult, the pursuit of my version of the American dream - college degree, husband, kids, house, meaningful career, etc. - clouded out all those altruistic goals; life became about the pursuit of my own happiness. College degree, check. Husband, check. Babies, check. House, check. But happiness? Hmmm. . . nope. As I acquired all of the ingredients of my dream, the weight and pursuit of possessions drug me into some dark places. My ego became bigger and my altruism became dependent on if my "needs" were met first. My "Needs." Ha!

I have always had everything I ever needed and most of what I wanted, but I wasn't happy because I wanted more. I wanted to be important. I wanted to be SEEN and APPRECIATED. I wanted nicer things, a magazine-worthy home, better clothes...that STUFF that our privileged American culture sells us as necessary to happiness. And the more I focused on the goal of making myself happy, the less happy I became. 

This idea that we need nice stuff to make us happy - that we need to achieve "success" to make us fulfilled -it's a lie. It's a slick commercial. It's false advertising. It's idolatry. And worshiping things and status instead of God, is the fastest road to despair we can travel.

"Jesus replied, 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally as important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Matthew 22: 37-39). Look as hard as you want, but there is NO commandment that says love yourself first. Love your home. Love your clothes. Love your car. Love your job. Nopity nope nope. In fact, Jesus says not to worry about all that stuff. Not sayin' we shouldn't have it, just that we shouldn't WORRY about it. 

"In the end, only kindness matters." These words from this song, Hands, by Jewel started playing over and over in my head several months ago. And I realized there is TRUTH in those words. They are like scripture. They are almost HOLY. 

I think He has been preparing me to face the truths I was slapped with when I started reading Interrupted. My heart and soul were almost there. And. Then. I started reading the wrecking-ball of a book. In it Jen Hatmaker lists some incredible statistics about how the rest of the world lives. These stats brought me to tears and tore several selfish desires right out of my head. I think you must read them for yourself (page 22 & 23 of the Bible Study version of Interrupted) in order to understand. But I am there. I am at the place where I no longer care about acquiring more for myself; I am focused on how can I give more to others. How can I even the playing field? Because in America, we have the home team advantage at every single game. Our poor are the richest in the world. They have access to help: food stamps, food pantries, homeless shelters, and thousands of charitable organizations and humanitarians. Our $50,000 (an approximate number throwing out highest paid) average household income puts us in the top 1% in the world.

While we in the middle class feel like we struggle to pay for health care and car payments, IPhones, and $1500 mortgages, there are MILLIONS in the world who still struggle to find clean drinking water, die from starvation and disease, and are sold into SLAVERY. Did you know that there are more people enslaved today than EVER BEFORE?

So my car is 10 years old. Whatever. It runs and gets me from place to place. So I haven't bought new clothes for myself in about a year. Whatever. I have a closet full. My kitchen is nobody's dream. Whatever. I have a fridge, a stove, and a sink with running water. And I am extremely grateful that I don't have to cart water from a dirty river to do my laundry or dishes.

So, how can we make life more fair?

At one of our Bible study meetings, one of the women voiced her concern about where the goods she buys - shoes, clothes, etc. - come from. She wondered if when she bought items from the common retailers, is she contributing to children working in sweatshops? Are the people making the products we buy earning a fair wage? 

And I wondered, am I contributing to human trafficking by buying from certain companies? Do the women in India, who make the clothes I purchase from Old Navy, have clean drinking water to give their children?

These questions sparked a fire in me, and I began researching. It may seem small to you. Or it may seem big to you. But here is one way we can all make a difference: we can put our money where our heart is. We can make an effort to buy fair-trade or American-made products. Yes, they can be more expensive. Yes, there aren't as many choices. But, the more we buy, the more there will be more.

I have barely scratched the surface on the topic, but I want to share what I have found BEFORE we all complete our Christmas shopping. So, here are some links and other tidbits I've learned so far: 
  • If you go to fairtradeusa.org, you can find a list of companies selling fair trade certified products. Everything from sugar to coffee to clothing is available. 
  • BJs sells some baked goods made with fair trade certified sugar. 
  • Flint and Tinder is a company that sells products (mainly underwear) which are 100% made in America. And they sell a 10-year Hoodie which looks super comfy and are guaranteed to last.
  • Room and Board is a furniture company that actually sells attractive furniture that is American-made and at reasonable (but not inexpensive) prices.
  • HAE Now sells organic, fair trade tees at a fair price, and if you want to sell your OWN line of shirts, they sell wholesale and will label your shirts for you. They sell baby and toddler onsies too.
  • When shopping for gifts, we can look at the Greater Good website, which was "Created to help women worldwide gain economic security for themselves and their families by earning fair wages for their handiwork, Global Girlfriend sources women-made, fair-trade imported, eco-friendly products. By supporting long-term partnerships with the artisans, it fosters equal employment opportunities, healthy and safe working conditions, technical assistance, and development strategies to help reduce poverty, one community at a time. Become a "Global Girlfriend" and help build a brighter future for girlfriends around the globe!"
If buying fair trade isn't your style, here are some other ideas: Buy food to donate to a local food pantry. Sponsor a child. Or adopt a child! Buy a family a goat. . . The possibilities to make the world more of a fair place are truly endless.  

May you have a very Happy Thanksgiving. We truly have so much to be thankful for!

Love,

Ashley


"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison and you visited me." -  Matthew 25:34-36









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