Categories: uncategorized
Date: 03 September 2006 06:48:46
Chris from A Churchless Faith learnt this recently:
We, in our wealthy society are detached:-
from production: We no longer make things for ourselves and we have little if any idea of how things are made.
from producers: We don't know the people who make the products we consume.
from products: We no longer buy a product purely for it's utilitarian value. Instead we buy products for the emotional experience attached to it or it's brand.
Discussed furtherhere
I think making a product I need brings the whole instant gratification thing to an end. If I have to find out how to make something, source the materials, and then make the thing, I'd really have to need it persisently to be bothered.
Although just because I know the people who have made something doesn't mean I need it. We saw a beautiful recycled timber table at the local market yesterday, we had a good chat to the guy who made it, and it was really cheap too. But we have a table.
It's a good starting point to stop and make us think and to slow down our consumption of stuff.
Today's bible reading was about the young man who came to Jesus and what he had to do be saved. He was a good man, a good person, he did all the right stuff, but Jesus must have seen right through to his heart, and when he did he loved him. I can just imagine Jesus looking right into his eyes, with a look of love, saying, "Sell everything that you have, and give it to the poor. Then come follow me. "
He couldn't do it, he went away sad, because he had great stuff. Mark 10:17-31
Here's an ad that's on the coverage of the supercars at the moment. It's supercheap auto and features a man with so much stuff he can't shut his shed. The other ad, which isn't on the website, is a dad who sends his kid home in a taxi because he has filled his car with stuff he has bought. Apparently it's a bloke thing to 'get more stuff.' How useful can a shed full of stuff be when you can't even get in there? I guess it's jsut for the emotional experience.