Shopping thoughtfully
Please sing or read the following hymn
STF 243 – A rich young man came seeking
- A rich young man came seeking –
God’s kingdom was his aim.
The law had been his guidebook.
His life was free from blame.
But Jesus asked the courage
To give his wealth away.
The young man turned in sorrow,
That price he would not pay.
- The rich men’s gifts were lavish
And made for public show.
The widow’s gift was humble
And only God would know,
In giving to the Temple,
Although her coins were small,
Her gift had so much meaning
Because she gave her all.
- One boy brought loaves and fishes,
No other food was there,
But Jesus fed the thousands
And still had bread to spare.
The miracle of plenty
Soon spread beyond that place.
That simple gift was offered,
Then multiplied by grace.
- Lord, keep our care for money
From turning into greed.
Help us to use it wisely
To meet each other’s need.
For whether poor or wealthy,
We have so much to share
And open-hearted giving
Will show your loving care.
© Marjorie Dobson (b.1940)
Prayer:
Forgive our demands for cheap food that costs the earth, for cash crops from subsistence land, for strawberries in December.
Forgive our ignorance leading to hidden slaves, dangerous conditions, child labour.
God bless our choices, that they may reveal your will, your kin-dom. Amen.
To think about:
- Can you work out which Bible story each of the first three verses is referring to?
- What challenges you most in this hymn?
This week we look at shopping thoughtfully. Our use of money is immensely powerful. What we spend and how we spend it therefore impacts on other people all the way down a supply chain. Our readings today address three key areas of finance: making loans (and the banking system), paying a fair and timely wage, and storing up excessive goods.
Deuteronomy 24:10-15 (NIVUK)
10 When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbour, do not go into their house to get what is offered to you as a pledge. 11 Stay outside and let the neighbour to whom you are making the loan bring the pledge out to you. 12 If the neighbour is poor, do not go to sleep with their pledge in your possession. 13 Return their cloak by sunset so that your neighbour may sleep in it. Then they will thank you, and it will be regarded as a righteous act in the sight of the Lord your God.
14 Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is a fellow Israelite or a foreigner residing in one of your towns. 15 Pay them their wages each day before sunset, because they are poor and are counting on it. Otherwise they may cry to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
Verses 10-13 address the issue of loans and collateral. The rules are set in place to ensure the dignity of the person requesting the loan. Firstly, the neighbour’s property remains theirs, so if you are making a loan you have no right of entry to demand collateral for the loan. Secondly, the neighbour’s cloak would also be their covering while they sleep, so returning it before sunset again affirms their dignity. Both approaches offer respect to the borrower. Furthermore such compassionate treatment will be regarded by God as righteous.
To think about
- Why is it important to God that there are rules for the person making a loan (rather than the person borrowing)?
- Like it or not, our money (held by the banks) is used and invested by the banking machine to make more money. This growth can, in turn, be used to make more money, or reinvested in society or charitable institutions. Is making money a bad thing?
The JustMoney Movement is a charitable organisation that campaigns for an eco and economically just use of money. One of its campaigns is for banks to have a fairer, greener use of its investments. For example, over 70 Christian organisations and churches issued a statement in November 2024 calling on Barclays, HSBC, NatWest, Santander and Lloyds to end their financing of new fossil fuels. In 2023 these five banks financed companies expanding use of fossil fuels to the tune of nearly $25bn.
Deuteronomy 24.14-15 sets rules not to exploit those who were destitute or in trouble. Wages were to be paid in full by sunset, so that no one would go without their basic needs and an employee could provide for their family. Given how often it is thought to be the sin of the person in trouble that has caused their affliction (think of the blind man given his sight by Jesus in John 9), this rule turns it on its head. It is the employer who is guilty of sin by not caring for their employees nor treating them with justice.
To think about
- Do you know the working conditions of the people who made the clothes you are currently wearing?
The FairTrade Foundation has been established for over thirty years, working to ensure better prices, safe working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers. It’s familiar logo certifies that food products and ingredients have met the FairTrade Standards throughout the supply chain.
2 See https://justmoney.org.uk for more information
3 See https://www.fairtrade.org.uk for more information
- What other campaigns do you know that seek to ensure justice for the employees?
- Where do you see injustice in the workplace?
If we all stop flying, what’s to become of the aviation industry workers, and all those who earn their living manning airports and planes?’
- Was this a long-term problem with the coach-builders, farriers, staging inns when motor transport replaced horses? Does the cost of the jobs include the damage done in those parts of the world most affected by the changing climate to which flying contributes?
Luke 12:16-21 (NIVUK)
16 And he told them this parable: ‘The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, “What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.”
18 ‘Then he said, “This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’”
20 ‘But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?”
21 ‘This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich towards God.’
- To think about
- Do you ever engage in ‘retail therapy’?
- Why do we always need to buy more?
- Is there anything you buy to excess? How would you re-write this
parable for the modern age (or for yourself)?
elf, then bought another one to read. This happened again and again until she had no space left on her shelves. ‘What can I do?’ she wondered. ‘All these books are excellent, and I might want to go back and read them again. I know!’ she thought, ‘I’ll buy another bookshelf.’
So she bought another bookshelf, and in time she filled that. But not wanting to lose the accumulated knowledge from her books she bought another bookshelf to store more books. Books and shelving spilled out from room to room until she had to squeeze herself sideways along the corridor. One day she decided she had a big enough library, and she would go back to re-read her favourite books.
‘You fool!’ cried God. ‘Tonight your life will be taken from you, and you will have nothing but a stack of books. Who will benefit from your storage?’
What treasures do you store on earth that pull you away from God?
My example…
There was a woman who bought a new book. Having read it, she put it on her shelf, then bought another one to read. This happened again and again until she had no space left on her shelves. ‘What can I do?’ she wondered. ‘All these books are excellent, and I might want to go back and read them again. I know!’ she thought, ‘I’ll buy another bookshelf.’
So she bought another bookshelf, and in time she filled that. But not wanting to lose the accumulated knowledge from her books she bought another bookshelf to store more books. Books and shelving spilled out from room to room until she had to squeeze herself sideways along the corridor. One day she decided she had a big enough library, and she would go back to re-read her favourite books.
‘You fool!’ cried God. ‘Tonight your life will be taken from you, and you will have nothing but a stack of books. Who will benefit from your storage?’
- What treasures do you store on earth that pull you away from God?
Challenges for the week
Individual
- Resolve to live more simply, such as to only buy second hand (unless consumables)
- Eat vegetarian… or vegan…
- Identify how far your food has travelled, and consider sourcing more local products.
Church/Community
- Encourage all users of the church to use fair trade products to make your church a ‘Fair Trade Church’
- Look at your energy supplier. Could there be a more eco-friendly option that would reduce your carbon footprint (such as Ecotricity or using Biofuel)?
Prayer:
Living God,
may we hear you calling for justice:
through the poor in a world of plenty;
through those oppressed by harsh regimes;
in the voices of the victims of religious legalism;
in the cries of the earth polluted by human greed;
in places where economics downgrade talent,
and efficiency outweighs care;
in the voices of the vulnerable in our hamlets and cities.
May the peace we seek
reflect your justice
and express your compassion and care.
Through Jesus, the Christ. Amen.
4 Chris Polhill, in Eggs & Ashes