What are some of your greatest
fears, not things like spiders or thunderstorms, but things you worry about, things
that cause anxiety? If you are
middle-aged, as I am, somewhere high on your list is losing your job. In 2012, more than 3.5 million
Americans ages of 45 to 64, an unprecedented 8.2%, were unemployed; 39% of them for
a year or more. Most struggle
with the loss of income as well as a loss of dignity. Their mental and physical health suffers.
Into
this unhappy picture steps Jesus with a parable about a middle-aged account
manager. His employer has uncovered intolerable wasteful behavior and the account
manager is set to be fired. He is told
to present his records and then pack up and leave. His inner worries ring true. He knows his prospects are limited. At his age physical labor is just too
taxing. He doesn’t want to beg or turn
to government assistance,
What
will the account manager do? Well, it is
Jesus’ story so Jesus will do with it what he often seems to do: he spins it in
a startling, almost puzzling direction.
The account manager decides to approach the people who owe his employer
money and cut their bills by as much as half.
This way, he reasons, they will welcome him into their homes once he is
out of a job. While there is little
honest or noble about his actions, the employer praises it as a shrewd
maneuver. As I said, it is Jesus’ story
so he can tell it any way he likes.
Through
this parable Jesus reminds each of us we have a basic choice to make in life:
either we can use people to make money or we can use money to bless
people.
Adam
Smith laid out the foundational principles of a free market economy in his book,
The Wealth of Nations. In it he
argues the individual person, motivated by self-interest and guided by moral
behavior, is in the best position to make economic and financial decisions for
himself or herself. So, for example, the
cost of milk moves based on supply and demand.
When the cost goes up, consumption goes down. When consumption goes down supply increases,
the cost drops, and people begin to buy more milk. It is a beautiful system and one that is much
more efficient than, say, a central agency such as a government setting the
price of milk.
Today’s
reading from the prophet Amos highlights the potential flaw in this
system. While we can count on people to
be motivated by self-interest, can we depend on them to be moral? Amos condemns the merchant class of his
society accusing them of dishonest practices such as shorting the weight of
what they sell (think of paying for a pound of grain, but only getting ¾ of a
pound), cheating the money which also had to be weighed (today we have ‘hidden’
fees and charges), and selling substandard quality goods – wheat swept off the
floor.
Like
those people of old, we are still motivated by self-interest, but less and less
regulated by moral behavior. Our
government cranks out more and more rules to police our economy, but can’t keep
pace with what is happening and can’t find enough moral people to do the work
of keeping things fair. As a result, sometimes
we get “gypped.” A product or an
exchange is not as good as advertised.
Sometimes we get the “shaft.” Our
car turns out to be a lemon. And
sometimes the entire economy collapses under the massive weight of widespread
fraudulent behavior.
Jesus’ critique is as simple
as this: we are using people to make money.
His solution: we should use our money to bless people. But what exactly does this look like?
At its meeting last Monday,
the Vestry needed to make several decisions about our kitchen renovation. None has been discussed more than the
purchase of a new stove. If there is an
option we have not considered I don’t know what it might be. We got great advice by talking to a local
distributer who helped us identify our needs and then connected us with a
particular product. The distributor will
coordinate with the construction company to get the stove delivered and
installed. It will also be available
should any issues arise. An easy
decision, right? Well, no. You see we can order the exact same stove on-line
and save a couple thousand dollars.
We’ll have to find someone to get it into the building and hooked up to
the gas line, but this should only cost a couple of hundred dollars. The bottom line makes this an easy call,
right? Wait.
So much about our society has
changed with the advent of big retailers and on-line shopping. Hunting down the lowest price is at the click
of a finger. I can go to Wal-Mart and
buy groceries and household goods at a savings of what it cost my parents years
ago. That is all well and good, except much
of the money I spend there leaves our community. Employees and suppliers earn a living, but
the profit goes elsewhere. Back in the
day when local businesses where owned and operated by local people, the money
we spent in their stores stayed in our community. It benefited the owner in addition to his or
her employees and suppliers. Those
business owners became civic leaders who generously supported institutions in
our community – organizations like churches.
This layer of our society is shrinking and, while we can buy more
products at a lower cost, we are impoverished by the process in ways we might
not imagine.
The Vestry weighed all of this
and decided to create a relationship with the local stove distributor. We believe it is good for our community,
beneficial to us in the long run, and in keeping with Jesus’ teaching to use
our money to bless people.
This decision has started me
to think about the value of shopping locally.
The website Sustainable
Connections has a top 10 list of reasons to buy from locally owned
enterprises:
1. You
support yourself. Local owners make
purchases from other local businesses, thus strengthening the economic base of
our community.
2. Non-profit
groups receive 250% more support from small businesses than large businesses.
3. Local
businesses make our community unique.
They make us some place, not just anyplace.
4. Local
businesses have a lower impact on the environment.
5. The
majority of people are employed by a small business. Buying local creates jobs.
6. You get
better service.
7. You are
making an investment in our community.
People who own or work in a local business are more invested in our
community’s future and are less likely to move away.
8. Local
businesses require less infrastructure and are more efficient at using public
services than big box stores.
9. When you
shop local you tend to buy what you want rather than what a national sales
campaign wants you to buy.
10. You encourage local prosperity by creating a climate favorable
to resident entrepreneurs.
I don’t know if I will stop shopping at
Wal-Mart or Lowe’s anytime soon, nor will I don a fake mustache and dark
glasses when I do go there. But I do
want to be more mindful about the purchasing decisions I make. Not only is a Baron burger superior to what
is served at McDonalds, but so is the impact of the monetary exchange. I don’t drink coffee, so I cannot comment of
the quality of the product at a local shop verses Starbucks, but there is an
economic impact to be sure. And, at
least as far as Jesus is concerned, there is a moral, ethical, and spiritual
impact as well. The bottom line of my Food
Lion receipt might look better, but the quality of my community, which also has
an impact on me, suffers.
Jesus said, “Either you can use people to
make money or you can use money to bless people.”
