Spending too much, who me?

Ooh, this one is tough.  Cause I actually think I'm really good about spending.  Until I actually take a look at my spending.

Jen has some questions for us to ponder, here's one I really like:

If someone looked over your checkbook/bank statement/credit card statement, what would they say your spending priorities are?  Does this assessment accurately reflect your heart?

Something from this chapter that really stood out for me was from day 20.  Jen asks if our choices really matter when we look at the big picture, then lists what we spend annually in the US on cosmetics ($8 billion), US & Europe on Pet Food ($17 billion) and US &  Europe on Perfume ($12 billion).  Then on the flip side, she lists the global totals for clean water ($9 billion), basic education ($6 billion) and basic health and nutrition for all ($13 billion).  This turns my stomach.  As a "world" how could we possibly be spending more on Pet Food, then basic health and nutrition for all people?????

She refers to a United Nations report that states 86% of total private consumption expenditures come from the top 20% of the world's people from the highest income countries.  In other words "20% at the top buying 86% of the stuff".    So if we changed our habits, which way would we go - would we spend less and save more or spend less and give more?

I'd like to close with a passage from Isaiah, translated in The Message version.  Ponder the promises He makes, if we do what He is "interested in seeing us do".

Isaiah 58:7-12

The Message (MSG)

^6-9 “This is the kind of fast day I’m after:
    to break the chains of injustice,
    get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
    free the oppressed,
    cancel debts.
What I’m interested in seeing you do is:
    sharing your food with the hungry,
    inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
    putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
    being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
    and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
    The God of glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
    You’ll call out for help and I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’

A Full Life in the Emptiest of Places

^9-12 “If you get rid of unfair practices,
    quit blaming victims,
    quit gossiping about other people’s sins,
If you are generous with the hungry
    and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,
Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,
    your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.
I will always show you where to go.
    I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—
    firm muscles, strong bones.
You’ll be like a well-watered garden,
    a gurgling spring that never runs dry.
You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,
    rebuild the foundations from out of your past.
You’ll be known as those who can fix anything,
    restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,
    make the community livable again.

Do we have to wear tie dyes and flowers in our hair too?

Ok, maybe that's going a little too far :)  When you think about it, this month's topic is more about adopting new habits than fasting from a particular item or object.  So, if you are not ready to take up gardening, composting, recycling, conserving, buying only local/thrift store or used items, and driving only one car.... then here are some other suggestions Jen provides for you to consider:

• Eliminate 7 convenience products that contribute to landfills/deforestation or pollution (paper towels, water bottles, baggies, paper plates, fast food, plastic grocery bags and soda cans)
• Take inventory of your pantry, bathroom cabinets and cleaning supplies - assess the following 7 areas
• what items come heavily packaged with multiple layers of cardboard or plastic?
• what could you buy in bulk rather than individual packages?
• can you buy a concentrated product, add water and re-use an old spray container?
• with what products could you reduce plastic consumption?
• where can you replace paper with cloth?
• what products are unnecessary and could be eliminate altogether?
• what containers could be reused?

Something else to think about from this chapter is a quote Jen refers to from Wendell Berry "The ecological teaching of the Bible is simply inescapable:  God made the world because he He wanted it made.  He thinks the world is good, and He loves it.  It is His world; He has never relinquished title to it.  And He has never revoked the conditions, bearing on His gift to us of the use of it, that oblige us to take excellent care of it.  If God loves the world, then how might any person of faith be excused for not loving it or justified in destroying it?"

I look forward to digging in deeper with you all on the 13th when we get together again next time.