‘We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the cruel words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people.’ Martin Luther King, Jr.
Photo: Tearfund.
By not speaking up about the importance of how we use our money, by following the crowd down to the sales, spending money we don’t have on the latest games console or pair of trainers, and living from one week to the next in our relationship with money, we become part of the problem. As well as us losing out on our relationship with God, by not getting our wallets under control we can make life worse for our global brothers and sisters.
Many of the poorest people in the world produce the food we buy in the supermarket and stitch the clothes we buy on the high street. Global trade rules favour rich nations like ours, enabling large companies to force food producers from developing countries to sell their produce for far less than its real value, and garment factories to pay workers way below a living wage.
Photo: Tearfund
But there’s more to the story: our responsibility for our money isn’t limited to what we buy. How we choose to invest it is also hugely important. Our choice of bank, for example, can have just as much of an impact on the lives of the poor as our decision whether or not to buy a pair of trainers made in a sweatshop. Some of our high street banks play a part in creating and sustaining a world that falls way short of God’s standards. Some banks lend to and invest our money in businesses whose core activities may be harmful to the environment, exploitative of human rights, ignore international labour standards for workers in poor countries, pursue harmful practices on animals and support oppressive regimes.
Our choice of bank can link us up with some pretty un-Godly activities. Just as it is with food and fashion we cannot ignore the consequences of our actions.
Click here to write to your bank to find out what they are investing your money in.
Which of these best describes you? Are you a shopaholic, givaholic, savaholic, or i-need-just-a-little-bit-more-aholic? Find out what God has to say about you and money and our top tips for putting God at the centre of your finances by clicking here.