Day 23 - A recent splurge....

I'm actually not a big spender and so had to go shopping to have something to photograph! Ha ha

I actually had a really nice time shopping while Miss 2 was at kindy and got some good bargains. Then on the drive home was listening to the radio and heard someone talking about the issues of human trafficking. They told facts we have probably all heard before... more slaves now than in the time of William Wilberforce, estimated over 30 million, many children trafficked and even sold by unsuspecting parents etc etc... horrible stats and pretty hard to fathom.  I then suddenly thought about the items I had just purchased - $5 singlets, $10 pants - if I paid so little how little was the person who had actually made them getting? Is my consumerism and need for everything to be so cheap contributing to the horrible problem of slavery? 

I realise the issues are not as simple as that. Had I paid $100 for my top quite possibly no more of the money would have made it to the workers in China. But that still doesn't mean I should do nothing. It is hard to know how to shop ethically. I trust that NZ retailers would ensure that their clothes are made in fair trade conditions. But I don't know definitely. And paying only $5 for clothes does make you wonder! What a way to wreck my retail therapy!!

Anyway a bit of a serious blog today but I think it is worth thinking about these issues. I don't have the answers for you! What I do know is that God cares about those in slavery. They are his children. I don't know what I would do if I knew the future for my girls was to work long hours in horrible conditions for little pay. Imagine if they and I did not have options. We didn't have the ability to dream and plan for the futures that we wanted. In the bible in James 5 v 4 it says "Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty." Perhaps we could change it to the wages we failed to pay those who made our ______ (fill in the blank). I realise we don't do this intentionally and most of us would want everyone to be paid fairly. But maybe our small splurges are keeping others in poverty. 

I don't know all the answers but I do know that God sees and God hears and God wants us to be the ones who make a difference for those in slavery. My challenge to you today is to Do Something! Small or big if we all make changes it will make a difference.

And if you really want to be challenged read James 5 v 1 - 6.