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The Living Word
Bible Study and Reflection: Shopping and Sausage
From The Fair Trade Foundation
http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/get_involved_ideas_for_churches.htm
Buying a product is a bit like eating a sausage – easy to enjoy,
until you know what’s gone into making it. We need to see what goes
before and after our purchases: the producers, and the impact of our
consumption.
Read 2 Samuel 23:13-17
At first this story from David’s battle days may not seem to have
much relevance to fair trade. But on closer study it is an example of
making ethical choices. Although he so wanted to drink water from the
well of Bethlehem, he refused it, because he knew the risks that had
gone into fetching it far outweighed its value. He recognized the costs
seen by the eyes of God, which were far greater than those implied by
the simple vessel of water before him. We too need to see these costs,
and make our choices with this wider perspective in mind. This includes
asking moral questions such as:
Does buying this product relate to my belief in justice for the poor?
Before acting, Gandhi would ask himself, ‘how will what I am about to do
affect the weakest, most vulnerable person I know?’
Will buying this product respect the integrity of creation,
and our role as stewards of this earth for both God and future
generations?
Ultimately, will this product deny abundant life (see John
10:10b), not only to me, but to those involved in its production or
consequences?
Some may object that Fairtrade products cost more, as indeed they often
do. But the question then becomes: who pays the price if we don’t? As the
rich, in relative terms, Jesus reminds us that we have a responsibility:
“where someone has been given much, much will be expected of him.” (Luke
12:48b)
For more biblical connections to Fair Trade, see Luke 4:18-19, Prov.
13:23, Amos 8:4-7, and Isaiah 58:6.