In western society, we have become expert in the art of consumption. We have evolved as consumers to the point of being able to obtain any product that is for sale that we have the funds to afford. Not long ago, we could say that we could get just about anything by going down to the local Wal-Mart and picking it up. Now, we can get even what the big box stores don't sell by turning on our computers and ordering it from wherever it exists around the world. They'll send it right to our door. While we like the convenience of that, there is a cost. Our attempts to satisfy our insatiable appetite for stuff comes with an ecological price. The world's resources are limited, and many of them are not renewable. Until we all come to recognize that we are not first and foremost consumers of what God has made, but stewards of it instead, we will continue to deplete that which sustains life and doesn't even belong to us. Once we do see that God has entrusted us with his creation, and we become serious about caring for it, we can reverse the trend. The issue isn't a political one, but a theological one. It's time to change the nature of the debate.
Readings: Exodus 7:25-9:35; Matthew 19:13-30; Psalm 24:1-10; Proverbs 6:1-5
