[Monday's Devotional] - Throw it Away!

A recent report by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers recently made headline news in the UK (a rare event for the IMechE!).  Apparently our throw-away society disposes of around half of the food that is produced (at least in the USA and Europe).  Supermarkets, restaurants, cafes, shops and homes are all part of the problem – as well as our love of strict adherence to "best before dates", and our love of perfectly formed and uniformly shaped fruit and vegetables.  Also, "Buy One Get One Free" encourages people to buy more than they need, and the "free" one may go out of date and be thrown in the bin before it is needed.  It's not only food though that we are wasting:- phones, TVs, computers and other electronic gadgets seem to have a life time of less than 5 years now before they are replaced by the newer/better/faster model with better resolution and more storage.

The transitory nature of our relationship with items like food and technology should not pollute the way we think about people or God.  God is permanent – something that we can't imagine.  He was and is and is to come.  And our time on earth, short as it is, should be focused on relationships, not on food and "stuff".

For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.  But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.  Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
1 Timothy 6: 7-10 [NIV]

Lord, help us to be responsible with the world you have given us.  Help us to share our food, possessions and talents with those who have nothing.  Keep us from greed and the temptation to always want more.  In Jesus name, Amen.

Dave MacLellan