'Sorry, Lord, not today'

Friday, Sep. 05, 2014

Last weekend, I rudely got up from the table of the Lord and walked away. It was just for a moment, like so many moments of sin. The Lord asks me, and all of us, to care for the vulnerable and the voiceless, but in this instance I refused.  

My act was simple and common – instead of choosing not to purchase an item produced by poor women receiving something far less than a livable wage, I allowed my desire for the object to dominate my thought process, and pulled out my wallet. In that simple act, I essentially responded to God’s call to care for the poor with a “Sorry, Lord, not today.”

It’s not a proud moment, but a common one, though perhaps not always recognized as sinful. While we easily spot the big, obvious acts of sin – murder, adultery, stealing cars, lying on our tax returns – we often fail to recognize the smaller, daily moments when we turn away from God.  Most of us will never intentionally take a life, but we do damage to the dignity of life on a daily basis, inflicting small wounds, often without thinking twice, particularly in our economic decisions.

Considering economics in religious terms does not come naturally. Sure, we understand that we should share our wealth with others through charitable giving, but we’re not always aware that our participation in the economy involves daily moral decisions.  Our view of Biblical justice demands that we respect the human dignity of all persons in our economic transactions. This doesn’t just mean that we are polite to a sales person as we exchange money for goods or services. Rather, Catholic justice requires that we pay attention to the entire economic process – understanding where our products come from, who makes the items or provides the services, how they are paid and under what conditions do they work, how does the company protect and care for God’s creation in its processes, does production of the good or services benefit the community, does production require a disproportion amount of the world’s resources, does the purchase of the good or service further economic inequality, and where will this item end up in five, 10, 25 years? Polluting a landfill? 

That’s a lot to consider while standing in the aisle with a bored child in tow and 15 other stops to make before dinner, but taking the time to consider the impacts of our economic decisions is an important lesson to teach our children. It also can bring us back to the table with God.  

In fact, making conscious decisions about which companies and business practices to support just might give us a clearer understanding of our Gospel mission. Defending the vulnerable includes choosing to use our resources to support human dignity around the globe. We may accomplish that through the simple but conscious act of turning down the T-shirt we do not need, and which was made by a 10-year old in a sweatshop, and instead giving the money to a micro-finance program that empowers women to learn new skills and start their own businesses. 

We need to take larger advocacy steps as well. A thorough discussion of living wages, rights of workers, and economic policies in the United States must include Catholic voices. Our Church teaching provides rich lessons in the rights of every human being to make a living that enables each person to meet basic needs, to work in a safe environment, and to be protected from economic ruin in the event of illness, retirement, or unemployment. It is vital that all Catholics share Pope Francis’ succinct summary of Catholic teaching on economics: “Money must serve, not rule!”     

As we celebrate Labor Day with sales offering 50 percent to 75 percent off, Catholics should spend wisely, considering not only our individual economic health but the health and welfare of the global community where our products are produced, shipped from, sold and disposed of, and the rights of the workers who make, sell or are otherwise involved in the production of the things we own.