[[This post is a general trend I have noticed for Americans, as I cannot speak for other countries and cultures]]
How many times have I gotten tired of something, bored because the product or item is old and worn out, and just thrown it away? Countless. I do it with everything, and unfortunately I’m not alone in this.
Think for just a minute of how we as Americans live our fast paced lives. We work long hours so that we can have nice things, but then go into debt to prove that we can afford nice things, and then have to work even longer hours. Jobs used to be to provide enough for the family, but now they’re to prove that we can afford bigger and better ‘stuff’.
Surely these things that we work so hard for must be of great value and last us our entire lives.. right?
No.
We spend our hard earned cash on fast cars and big houses. On new phones and computers. On fancy new clothes that go out of season within a few months. On handbags and expensive shoes. And what do we do when we’re done with all of these things? We throw them away. Like garbage.
Rarely do Americans recycle, not like we should at least. Yes, I’m sure a few of us separate our plastic from our garbage, but in general our landfills are getting even bigger than our bellies. We throw out old clothes and electronics, or sell them for extra cash. Our food waste alone can give insight to our very wasteful lives. We don’t compost, and littering is a very big problem. Its just so easy to throw things away, instead of taking the time to care for unwanted items correctly.
All this time I’ve been talking about physical items, but what if this throw away society has transferred into our spiritual and emotional world?
Surprise surprise– it has.
When our parents get old, we place them in nursing homes and rarely visit. When our children graduate from high school or college, we send them away and hope for a visit or two around the holidays. We treat the homeless not as a neighbor in need of a warm meal and a nice conversation, but a failed human that doesn’t deserve respect. When the world is at war and there are refugees to be helped, we turn our backs and cover ourselves with fear.
We are simply not slowing down enough to open our eyes, to see the world through God’s eyes.
Instead of a smelly man sitting on the corner begging for your change, He sees a war veteran who gave his life so that you could have the freedom to ignore him. He doesn’t see Syrian children as terrorists trying to kill everyone, but as children who have seen far to much for their age, and just want to be comforted by their parents. He doesn’t see the mentally ill as a nuisance, but a pure soul that will love unconditionally.
It breaks my heart that we are like this, because by we, I mean I. I can’t count the times that I’ve walked by homeless men and women and pretended to be busy on my phone. Or how many times I’ve sold my old clothes to make a few extra dollars rather than giving them to my local church to be given to those in need. Or even how many times I’ve thrown away old food because I just wasn’t in the mood, rather than considering myself lucking for even having a hot meal.
I want the world to be at peace, more than anything. I want to be the hands and feet of Jesus, to clothe the naked and feed the hungry. And I will. That’s why I’m going on this crazy journey around the world. But in truth I could have been doing this work all along. I can do it everywhere I go, and Jesus asks this of us.
Now its just time for us to move.
