Well I must first of all apologize for not writing during this past week. Sickness and life happened and blogging was one of the unfortunate casualties of last week. I am a bit on the mend now, and ready to share what has been placed on my heart.

I have recently been blessed by a number of good books, and I am in a sense in the middle of reading about four of them. It may seem a bit spastic to be in the middle of four different books, but as long as they are not to similar in content, my feeble brain still somehow makes sense of them all. One of those books just happens to be Everyday Justice by Julie Clawson, and it has really gotten me thinking about my everyday choices. I have worked with fair trade coffee c0ops in the past like Equal Exchange and 963 Missions, but I rarely thought about my purchases much beyond that. But our choices matter, and they have a real impact on someone’s livelihood.

The choices we make, the things we choose to purchase, the shops and boutiques that we frequent are a direct advertisement for the way in which those products are farmed, produced, assembled, or what those products help fund. I would have to say that in the past most of us would get a free pass for our ignorance, but there is simply no excuse any longer. We have access to the world like never before, and we have access to how the world operates. With the tiniest bit of research you can find out where your coffee beans were grown, where you the cocoa beans that make your favorite chocolate are grown, and the labor that is involved behind every stitch of your clothing.

The information is there, so you have to ask yourself if you really care. Do you care that the individuals who made your t-shirt are working for little or no pay and are often beaten and forced to work in despicable conditions? Do you care that the coffee you drank to wake you up this morning was farmed by a family that is barely able to survive day to day life? And if you don’t care about your fellow man, then I’ve got nothing for you, but if you do care than this is a call to wake up. As Julie writes in her introduction it can be quite overwhelming to concern yourselves with everything that you wear, consume, or purchase. So start small. Take notice of where your purchases come from.  Here are a few lifestyle choices from an article in Relevant magazine that you can adopt to make some positive changes around the globe:

1. Stop Keeping up with Jonses

2. Pay a Fair Price for Your Coffee

3. Buy Slave-Free Chocolate

4. Eat Sustainably

5. Conserve Energy

6. Support Sweatshop-Free Clothing

7. Reduce the Waste You Create

8. Campaign for Conflict-Free Cell Phones

Philippians 4: 10 states, “I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.” Well the time for concern is now, and there are multiple ways in which you can express it. You can make small changes in your life to help have a big impact on the lives of others. Wake up, and throw your ignorance card away, now that you know you are responsible to act!

March 10, 2010 <> Michael Warneke

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