people often feel the need to tell me how we can't possibly change anything.
it's not true.
and honestly, it's not the point.
i don't think it can be the point. Christmas morning is a day when Christians celebrate that Jesus came to earth to set people free in every imaginable way. so, celebrating Christmas in a way that embodies the value of all people created in God's image, refuses to take advantage of the poor, and seeks freedom for everyone in every imaginable way seems the only appropriate way to celebrate the holiday. the bottom line is Christmas is about worship not about stuff. and the manner in which we celebrate Jesus should be worshipful. it's not about changing anything.
but the fact remains, it is simply untrue that we cannot change anything.
envision this: it's the day after Christmas. post Christmas consumer research has begun. as information is compiled and begins to be analyzed, it becomes clear that a growing number of Christ-followers are interested in celebrating the holiday with decorations, foods, and gifts that are ethically made and harvested.
any corporation that wants their business, then, realizes that if they want our business, they need to sell ethically made items. so the next year they do. maybe even just one or two. but those one or two items represent jobs and hopes and nourishing foods for people across the globe.
we have not only changed "anything." for some people - even a few - we've changed everything.
think about it, walmart now carries organic foods. they do not do this because it warms their hearts but because it is what their patrons asked for. the mars company has pledged fair trade chocolate by 2012. they have not done this because, like the grinch, their hearts grew three sizes on Christmas morning; they have done it because people like you and like me have said that we want fair trade chocolate.
and, here's the sad and honest part of things: companies produce abusively made products because we have wanted them. we wanted lower prices and forgot to look into how those lower prices were coming to us. we had budgets and didn't consider the budgets of our brothers and sisters around the world.
we did change the world.
and we can and will change it again.
and more importantly, we can worship Jesus this Christmas not by simply singing carols that tell his story but by living lives that embody it.
"away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!"
-Yahweh as quoted in Amos 5:23-35
it's not true.
and honestly, it's not the point.
i don't think it can be the point. Christmas morning is a day when Christians celebrate that Jesus came to earth to set people free in every imaginable way. so, celebrating Christmas in a way that embodies the value of all people created in God's image, refuses to take advantage of the poor, and seeks freedom for everyone in every imaginable way seems the only appropriate way to celebrate the holiday. the bottom line is Christmas is about worship not about stuff. and the manner in which we celebrate Jesus should be worshipful. it's not about changing anything.
but the fact remains, it is simply untrue that we cannot change anything.
envision this: it's the day after Christmas. post Christmas consumer research has begun. as information is compiled and begins to be analyzed, it becomes clear that a growing number of Christ-followers are interested in celebrating the holiday with decorations, foods, and gifts that are ethically made and harvested.
any corporation that wants their business, then, realizes that if they want our business, they need to sell ethically made items. so the next year they do. maybe even just one or two. but those one or two items represent jobs and hopes and nourishing foods for people across the globe.
we have not only changed "anything." for some people - even a few - we've changed everything.
think about it, walmart now carries organic foods. they do not do this because it warms their hearts but because it is what their patrons asked for. the mars company has pledged fair trade chocolate by 2012. they have not done this because, like the grinch, their hearts grew three sizes on Christmas morning; they have done it because people like you and like me have said that we want fair trade chocolate.
and, here's the sad and honest part of things: companies produce abusively made products because we have wanted them. we wanted lower prices and forgot to look into how those lower prices were coming to us. we had budgets and didn't consider the budgets of our brothers and sisters around the world.
we did change the world.
and we can and will change it again.
and more importantly, we can worship Jesus this Christmas not by simply singing carols that tell his story but by living lives that embody it.
"away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!"
-Yahweh as quoted in Amos 5:23-35
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