I take so much for granted in the 21st century: health, food, shelter, clothing. The basic human needs, or should I say, daily bread, are there seemingly without effort on my part. Last week, two instances brought this sanitised existence into focus.
Firstly, I had a toothache, don't all send your sympathy at once. Despite the odd muscle twinge or headache, I am in reasonably good health. So when my jaw started aching and then the tooth below it sent sharp pain every time I bit down, I knew something was wrong. A trip the dentist followed, but over the past few days I have been unable to sleep at times due to the pain. I am told this is part of the healing process.
Secondly, I watched in horror as the news came through about the Dhaka clothing factory in Bangladesh that collapsed, killing hundreds. This factory, and many others like it, provide the clothing that many of us wear, not just to keep warm, but 'look good'. In order to keep the rich in fashion, poorer workers scrape a meagre living in difficult conditions.
Health and wealth are relative, but this week has made me think about both of them. One has made me realise how thankful I should be. The other has made me take note of the price others pay for my convenience. One has strengthened my thankfulness to God and deepened that relationship. The other has revealed injustice, deepened my relationship with my fellow humans and convicted me to act differently toward obtaining basic possessions.
Our relationship to God and others is summed up by Jesus in Mark 12:28-34. So simple, but it was a toothache and a news report that made me think about those words this last week. I take God's blessing far too lightly in my life and I know I wouldn't want to work in difficult and dangerous conditions so those who have more than me can buy cheap clothes, that's not justice.
Justice is just one of the keywords that you could use for a search of The Seed. Add it to the quick search box, press enter/return and you'll see a list of justice related resources that you can use in your worship service or for personal devotion. The search means you don't have to use the resources we recommend on The Seed. Whatever you feel God wants you to share with others The Seed should have a resource for you, be it prompted by world events... or a toothache.
