Better a little with righteousness
than much gain with injustice.Proverbs 16:8
Would you choose to change your lifestyle, to have “little” possessions as opposed to “much gain,” for the sake of acting in a righteous manner? I don’t mean in a way of self-righteousness, where you believe that you are better than others. I mean in a way that pleases and honors God. What if, to avoid injustice, you needed to change what you ate? What if you needed to change where you live? What if you needed to change the car you drove? The places you shop? How much you buy?
Some people advise to not worrying about the impact of your own individual lifestyle, that the real causes of unfair trade, work-houses, poverty, and starvation are because of governments and big businesses. You can’t change the governments, but you can change the businesses. If they are not selling the goods that are being produced in bad conditions or unfair trades, they will have to stop. They are driven by your dollars and sense.
I’m going to seriously try to buy a lot more wisely. I started off the year with the resolution to buy local and organic food… it was done so easily that I don’t even feel it. I joined a local co-op who buy Oklahoma produce and meat (as much as possible, some is from other places), and I can get any or all of three different bags a week. A meat bag, a vegetable and fruit bag, and a dairy/breakfast bag. I have only been getting the meat and vegetable ones, and I am very satisfied with it. It’s so much food, we can’t even eat it all in a week. And it is not any more expensive than if I bought the pesticide and genetically hormoned food at the regular store.
Next goal: buy wisely in areas of coffee, tea, sugar, flour, chocolate, etc… I think I will buy bread from a local bakery (which Josh will love). Another goal of mine is to completely stop using man-made chemicals (like in cleaning supplies, beauty products, etc.) It will take me a while, I’ll use up what I have, but then I will shift over to home-made cleaners that are made out of natural products and will be a lot better for my health, and for the earth.
I have a lot of goals… what are some of yours?
