Blessed are the poor for the Devil does not live there.
Four billion people live in poverty on this planet. 800 million of us live in a democratic free world of wealth, prosperity and opportunity. This is how you know if you are one of the 800 million lucky ones out there: 1) you’re reading this at your place of work, 2) your complaints are about gas prices, politics and co-workers, 3) your home is stuffed with too much “stuff”, 4) you always want to buy more “stuff” and 5) You can’t find enough space in your house to put all the “stuff”.
Consumerism consumption has to be where the devil lives.
When history judges our stewardship of our time on this Earth, I fear that they will label our generation; the generation “who did not care where there stuff came from”.
We as Americans look to our politicians, preachers, corporate presidents and pop-stars to bring about change to our world. Civil liberties, free government “for the people by the people”, clean water, air, food and prosperity are endowments that we want for all. When injustice shows itself, we look to our leaders to bring about social fairness.
Our leaders look to the 800 million to be the solution when asked.
For the most part we do want to be the solution when asked, no charity goes unfunded or unattended. The idea of a greener future sits well with us. Recycling, re-use and re-birth has developed into a mainstay within the corporations we work for. Nonetheless, we blindly turn our hearts and minds when it comes to getting “stuff” (Consumerism consumption). We go to giant box stores and buy their products that support sweatshops and slave labor. We eat at restaurants and shop at grocery stores that buy their food from companies that place toxins in food, fish-out oceans and permit animal cruelty, all for profit.
800 million of us acquire the bulk of our “stuff” from the Earth (be it in natural resources or through the labor of others). At the same time 800 million of us do the majority for the world’s charity?
How comfortable are you with your contradictions?
The Devil does not live in the poor - due to the fact that the historic Christian Devil figure is more of “wants” than cinematic evil. The Devil “wants” Jesus to bow down to him, in return Jesus gets the Earth. The Devil “wants” Job to fail and the Devil “wants” to show Adam and Eve that they are separated from God. In Buddhism the Devil figure is called Mara, the one who gets in your way. The Devil lives in the wanting of “stuff”, that is why consumerism consumption is where the Devil has to live. The old phrase “watch out for the devil inside” just got a whole lot scarier…
For more on conscious consumer capitalism
See: Does birth soil equal entitlement?
Democracy Rant
Effort is the only solution
Live Consciously + Think Integrally
Ethics and Economics
Conscious Consumerism
Can the food industry go the way of the music industry?
