Thoughts for the Day

Hear this, all you peoples;
give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
both low and high,
rich and poor together.
My mouth shall speak wisdom;
the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.....

Why should I fear in times of trouble,
when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me,
those who trust in their wealth
and boast of the abundance of their riches?

Do not be afraid when some become rich,
when the wealth of their houses increases.
For when they die they will carry nothing away;
their wealth will not go down after them.

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

As Christians we are put on earth to make a difference, and that might be to help reduce the gap between the rich and poor. We are to help our neighbours, whether they are coffee farmers in Peru or banana-growers in Ghana. Across the world-wide economy the work of fairly traded organisations is still very small scale, but each of us can help make a tiny difference by buying a few such items. After all as Psalm 49 says none of can take our wealth with us when we die.

As we saw earlier this week, Fair Trade seeks to help producers in developing countries achieve an equitable amount for their products. In 2008 Wales became the world's first Fair Trade Nation, and the movement is popular in the UK with hundreds of Fairtrade towns, and thousands of churches and schools linked to them. Across the world today there are also over 1.7 million farmers and workers in 1,707 producer organisations that are also part of the Fairtrade organisation.

Fairtrade allows local organisations to invest the premium they receive in things that are important to their community. In Ghana, for instance, Juliet Arku-Mensah who is the Fairtrade Officer of a Co-operative says it has allowed them to provide training and protective equipment and organise health screenings to test workers for diabetes, hepatitis, breast cancer, typhoid, and HIV.

Heavenly Father,
help us to buy carefully and sustainably,
not necessarily just the cheapest items,
if we can afford them.
Keep us mindful of the work of those
who produce the goods we buy
from our shops and supermarkets,
and not just take them for granted.
Amen.