In Memory of Consumers Distributing

Some of you may remember Consumers Distributing. It was a store that operated from 1957 to 1996 in which customers selected items from a store catalog instead of from store shelves, and employees would then go to a warehouse behind their counter to get any catalog items requested. I loved Consumers Distributing, and was sad when they closed. I used to eagerly page through the Consumers catalog, wishing I could afford so many of the things that I saw. I can fondly remember random items that I bought there: a baseball glove, a wall clock, a microwave cabinet, a floor lamp. And so many other things. I think I enjoyed shopping there because it was so easy to browse their entire stock as you just stood in one place and paged through their colourful catalog, knowing that whatever you found could immediately be brought out and presented to you like a gift (that you then had to pay for)! It was like Amazon before the internet and without the shipping fees! And just as Amazon aims to provide us with all that we want all on one website, Consumers Distributing tried to provide whatever any consumer might want all in one catalog.

All of these memories occurred to me this morning as I read Proverbs 23:23. "Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding." 

These are all invaluable items! Much more precious than baseball gloves and floor lamps. And it occurred to me that they're all readily available in the pages of one beautiful book that contains the words of God: the Bible! I can eagerly read my Bible knowing that every page is filled with truth and wisdom, instruction and understanding, and all of it is affordable because it's free! Isaiah wrote, "...he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price" (Isaiah 55:1). The food Isaiah spoke of was spiritual food. He went on to mention an "everlasting covenant" with God (55:3) in which we know that wine is symbolic of the shed blood of Jesus and milk represents the rich nourishment of God's Word. And it's all explained and made available in a book that has no product pictures, and yet is full of pictures for those who have eyes to see!

So as eager as I was to browse the Consumers Distributing catalog (and as eager as I may sometimes be to browse Amazon), I have so much more reason to be excited about reading God's Word. In the pages of my Bible are truth, wisdom, instruction and understanding; they are always in stock and always free. And the Holy Spirit is continually available as our teacher in these things (John 14:26), though He doesn't wait behind a counter to receive our requests as we find things – He comes right into our hearts to enlighten and encourage us as we read. So read eagerly, looking for all that is available and always free!

© 2016 by Ken Peters

An irresistible contrast

I'm so taken aback, I don't know what to say. Maybe I should keep my mouth shut (or my keyboard silent). After all, who am I to judge? I have my own excesses (to a degree). For instance, I buy a smoothie about once every six months. But when a friend of mine came back from a trip talking about a store he couldn't believe existed, I was -- well, taken aback. And however generous the people are who might frequent this store, I still can't manage to accept its appropriateness. As far as I'm concerned, it's a symbol of why some people in this world suffer without adequate food and water while others party. It's a picture of the excesses of western materialism while western newspapers tabulate how many children are dying in the horn of Africa.

I'm speaking of doll spas. American Girl doll spas. Where parents can take their little girls to have their $100 doll's hair done, or their doll's nails done, or their doll's ears pierced. Here's what else is available: "Our stylists will give her doll a thorough facial scrub to get her clean. And to keep her feeling relaxed, we'll send her home with a pampering set featuring cucumber stickers for her eyes, nail decals, flip-flops, a salon cape, and a faux face mask." And that's not all. There are photo sessions for dolls. And you can take your child and her dolly out for a dining experience as well.

So while bony little black children line up for a pot of porridgy food in some arid refugee camp, we use the extra dollars in our wallets to take our child's toy doll to the spa.

No, I'm under no naive illusion that all the world's poverty problems will simply go away if we send all our discretionary income to relief organizations. Corruption, power struggles and vested interests often get in the way. But I also know that the more we spend on ourselves and our toys, and the less we share with others, the less people will be helped as well.

© 2011 by Ken Peters

My struggles living in an I.T. world

I'm not entirely sure why, but I've never been a huge fan of all the spanking new information technology that's constantly out there, or with the ever-accelerating momentum of today's massive I.T. marketplace. At times I wonder if it's because I feel so technologically incompetent that I feel too intimidated to learn how to operate all those new devices. And at other times I think it's because I'm such a cheapskate that I can't bring myself to pay for all this new stuff that gets so old so fast.

But I've never been entirely satisfied with those reasons. They've never really fully expressed what I feel like is going on inside me every time I hear about the latest thing. It can't simply be intimidation, because I've happily grown quite capable of using some extremely helpful (although admittedly simple) forms of I.T. technology over the years. And I know it's deeper than just being tight with my money, because I'm quite happy to spend money on many other things that I could easily live without. There's something else. Speaking in a general sense, I think it's that there seems to be such a collective headlong rush to get the newest and the latest that we end up neglecting the oldest and the truest. Speaking personally along the same lines, I've found that I'd often rather Google something or Facebook someone than simply sit down and pray and read God's Word. And the more distracted I get, the more easily I end up preferring the pursuit of an Ipad (or how about a plasma TV) over the pursuit of how to obey what I heard God say during unhurried times with Him. Yes, too often it feels like these new technologies can create such attention-demanding distractions that it's difficult to avoid feeling like the I.T. world is at odds with God's kingdom. In actual fact, it doesn't have to be that way. When used wisely, these new technologies represent huge opportunities to help advance God's kingdom.

© 2011 by Ken Peters

Gift-Getting

Every Christmas, I find myself internally-conflicted in a couple of ways. On the one hand, I love giving presents. Turns out that gift-giving is one of my top love-languages. And I'm known in my family for buying gifts that people don't expect but are thrilled to get. Like the Australian leather cattleman's hat I bought for my dad not long ago. I should also mention the diamond ring I bought for Fiona one Christmas.

But on the other hand, I'm not so great at getting presents. Fiona tells me that I'm very difficult to buy for. Either I'm totally distracted by the cost of her buying me something after I spent so much on her, or I'm just not very easily pleased with what people get me. I can be ungrateful, focusing on the gift rather than the giver, wanting them to provide me with the same thrill I just gave them.

I guess that may be why I found the following video of Andy Rooney somewhat amusing...




Add to that the huge distraction of world poverty compared to the extravagant amount of money we as North Americans spend on Christmas presents and I can end up a real grump on Christmas morning. For example, did you know that last year, consumers in the United States spent about 10.7 billion dollars on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), 6.9 billion dollars on the Saturday before Christmas, and 7.9 billion dollars on Boxing Day? That's over 25 billion bucks spent in three -- count 'em! -- three short days. To put that in perspective, Burundi's GDP (gross domestic product, or the total value of all the goods and services a country produces in one year) is about 3.1 billion dollars. Haiti's GDP is about 6.7 billion dollars. Those figures create some of the internal conflict I feel at Christmastime as we lovingly buy unnecessary items for each other.

Ah, the joy of living in the tension of two truths. I want to remember the poor, but does that mean it's wrong to bless Aunt Nellie with a new set of tea towels?

So that leaves me needing to remember two important lessons as Christmas Day approaches. First, when it comes to gift-giving, gratitude is as important as generosity. Gift-getting is as much an act of love as gift-giving, and no one's act of kindness ought to be spurned, no matter what the circumstances! And secondly, in the same way that God doesn't intend for the needs of the world's poorest people to prevent me from blessing my family and friends at Christmas, I don't believe He wants me to spend so much on them that I'm unable to give anything to help the poor in a meaningful way as well.

Hopefully I can remember those things this Christmas, and then I'll be able to enjoy the gifts I get as much as I enjoy being a blessing to others in the many meaningful ways that God leads me.

© 2010 by Ken Peters

Delight before Desires

I like stuff.  I want stuff.  I sometimes find myself spending considerable amounts of time researching and searching for stuff to buy and own and use.  And then there's the important stuff that I spend my time do-ing.  Stuff like family I want to see healthy, or ministry that's meant to be fruitful.  So much of this stuff is good stuff, but as I spend my time buying, using or doing it all, I find that every bit of it has potential to distract me from, rather than draw me to, what matters most:  my relationship with God.  All the stuff around me -- even the good stuff -- constantly pulls at my heart, demanding both my attention and my affections.  And everyday I need to choose the place I'm going to give it in my life.

That's why the simple instructions provided in Psalm 37:4 are so helpful:  "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."  That's the order of life -- my delight in God is meant to come before my desire for stuff.  But given the way my life often looks, I'd be tempted to say that I thought this said:  "Delight yourself in the desires of your heart."  Nope, that's not it.  God wants to be the delight of my heart, and to come before any other desires.

Yet in the midst of those instructions, it's encouraging to see that God's desire to beat any competitors in our hearts is not a dismissal of the many good things we're involved in and surrounded by.  God is no kill-joy!  This psalm goes on to unpack the many ways God provides for those who depend on Him.  And as we delight ourselves in God, trusting Him and relying on Him (Psalm 37:3, 5-9), He promises to give us the desires of our heart!  Does that mean anything I ask for?  I don't think so.  But I do think it means that as we delight in Him, He will bless us -- and our families and our ministries -- and our weekends and our weekdays -- in ways that reflect the extravagant love of His Father's heart for us!  I just need to keep those wonderful gifts in their place as I delight in Him above anything else I desire.

© 2010 by Ken Peters

The Gifts or the Giver: Postures for a new decade (part 2)

A brief series of personal reflections on how I feel God has been posturing me for this new decade. Nothing profound. Just an honest and vulnerable look at where I'm at and who God is revealing Himself to be to me.

God is using a story I recently read in Luke, chapter 5 to help me to evaluate my priorities. In fact, the conclusion of this story never ceases to startle me. The end of the story seems more amazing to me than the great catch of fish that happens in the middle. It all begins with Jesus telling Peter to put out into deep water to let down his nets for a catch. Peter protests but complies. The nets then fill with fish to the point of breaking, and Peter calls for help to haul in the fish. Peter then falls down in awe before Jesus. Then Jesus says that from now on Peter will be catching men. Then it says Peter, James and John brought their boats in to land -- and here's the part that startles me -- "they left everything and followed him" (Luke 5:11). All those fish! They just walked away from a bonanza that they'd probably always dreamed of. All they'd ever known was catching fish, and they knew what a net full of fish would fetch in the market. And they'd finally hit the jackpot! But they just walked away from the whole catch. They wanted to be with Jesus far more than they wanted the great gift He had just given them.

Now I'm afraid that the reason I find that conclusion so startling is because it doesn't jive with my natural sensibilities. I think, why would they do that? At least sell the fish first! And I'm sure that that means there must be things in this world that I'd rather not walk away from if Jesus asked me to. I have to ask myself, would I do the same thing? What if I applied this to something important to me? What have I spent years seeking after, and what have I put a great deal of value in when I've found it? If Jesus gave me a sudden and bountiful supply of that something, but then asked me to turn my back on it in order to follow Him, would I do so without hesitation? I believe I'd only be able to if I were as awestruck with Jesus as the first disciples were.

But I need to make this more personal in order to properly evaluate my heart. What if Jesus led me to a garage-full of old 1st-edition, mint condition, used books that was being sold by its owner, $1 for the entire lot of them?! Then what if -- as Jesus began walking away -- He said that from now on I'd be collecting souls instead of books? Would I want to follow Him? Would I leave behind that garage full of books to follow Him? I believe I would. But I wonder if I'd be looking over my shoulder at the great goldmine I was leaving behind more than looking forward in awe at the One I'd chosen to follow.

I'm conscious of many material things in this world competing for my affections. Has that left me too often focused on some great catch of a legitimate earthly pursuit that's captured my passions? As I get excited from time to time, what does it look like I value most to the casual observer? Is my focus on the things I'd love for God to suddenly drop into my hands, or on the only One who is truly capable of satisfying my soul?

As I begin this new decade, I desperately need to see that all those fish, and all those books, and any other pursuit of this world that can get me excited are of absolutely no significance compared to knowing the One who is clearly capable of filling my life with many good things -- but who would rather fill me with Himself. In 2010, I want to see Jesus in a way that makes any other pursuit seem pale. And as I seek Him, may He fill me with such awe, that I'd give up anything to live for Him.

© 2010 by Ken Peters

Shopping for that special someone

There's only 5 weeks till Christmas and I've yet to spend the consumer average of $831 on Christmas presents! Talk about pressure. And with no snow on the ground, how does anyone expect me to even think of such things? I'm told that traffic at the malls in Winnipeg increases dramatically once it snows, as if all we are is a bunch of Pavlov's dogs that don't have the sense to simply look at a calendar and make plans. Or is it that we simply must have snow for Christmas shopping in the same way we expect there to be unshelled peanuts sold at a wrestling match or something is seriously wrong?

So in an effort to promote some good old fashioned consumerism this Christmas season, I've found ten inspiring ads that may give you some fresh ideas for the loved ones on your list (they can be clicked on to read the small print).


















And I'm thinking, that guy should be the president of the most powerful nation on earth.


















Why does it look like that Santa was found in a back lane somewhere? Well, if I know someone with a scratchy throat, I now know what to get.


















That's what I'm hoping for in my stocking. Sammy sure seems like he was hoping for some.


















This is for those who can't afford to buy someone a Mac notebook.


















Enough with that clean, digital iPod sound in which you can't even hear the scratchy friction of a piece of wire scraping across a sheet of vinyl! What's wrong with kids these days? At prices like that, go retro!


















Wow. Like, what are they really trying to encourage here? I may be reading too much into this, but is there a hint of malice in that ad?


















Now why does the look in that kid's eyes not go too well with the gun that's in his hands?


















That lady does indeed look happy. Way too happy.


















Aside from gift #10 below, this is the best gift any man could get his wife. I mean, talk about functionality! It's sure to be needed and she'll be sure to use it! I'm thinking I'm ready to pop over to Walmart any moment now.


















And this is an obvious choice for that special someone in your life. The small print says, "This year, there is no gift like Borg's magnificent bath scale... the 'Flight'." Yeah, you can bet I'll be flying. Right out the door if I give this to my wife. Did women in the '50s actually want these kinds of gifts at Christmas? Was it actually okay to give a gift that said, "Hey, maybe you need to shed a few pounds!"?

Well, there you have it. Ten great gift ideas. Happy consuming!

© 2009 by Ken Peters

Used books

I can't seem to walk past a used book store without going in. I have to look. I have to check and see. Though I'm sure I already have hundreds of books at home that I've yet to read (I've never counted them), I'm convinced there are more out there I need, and someone is prepared to sell me one for $1.25.

Every time I'm on vacation, this bug hits me hard. On past summer holidays, I've found beautiful first editions of old classics at cut-rate prices, books autographed by famous people and then priced as though nobody noticed, and vintage editions of out-of-print books by the likes of John Wesley and Charles Spurgeon in a give-away box! Those are the kinds of discoveries that keep me in the hunt.

So this year, I took my family on an exciting ferry ride to Victoria, BC. Beautiful city. Full of sights and attractions. World-class museums, a beautiful waterfront walkway, national historic landmarks. So much to see and do. And amidst all that, I made sure we found the time to visit two local bookstores. Not that they minded. My wife now loves such stores too. And all but one in our family bought books. But as we walked toward the second bookstore, the one child who didn't buy any books exclaimed exhaustedly, "Not another bookstore!" That got my attention.

And yet even as I pondered the significance of my daughter's plaintive cry regarding the prospects of another eternal wait as her family disappeared into the catacombs of another used bookstore, I fell prey. I had decided that the day after our day in Victoria would not be a commercial day, but a day out in the parklands of Vancouver Island. So we drove out of the city and surrounded ourselves with natural beauty. There's so much to see and experience on the island: thundering waterfalls and towering forests and gorgeous ocean beaches. And as we were walking together, the sea gulls happily calling us toward a sunny sea shore, the kids eager to find shells before the tide came in, I saw a used book store down the street. And before you could say "Hard cover, first edition", we were all in the store, surrounded by books once again. Sea shore? What's that?

The thing is, I simply don't need more books to read. I'm already reading about a dozen books right now. No, that's not right. It's more like I've got bookmarks in about a dozen books right now, and some of those have remained untouched for a few years. But I can't help it. I'll start a book, and then before I'm done, I get distracted by another book, and then before I'm done, I get distracted... you get the picture. The point is, I have plenty of reading material.

But that's not the point. I don't buy most book to read. I buy them to collect. I want to collect books that reflect my passions and values, whether I find time to read them or not. And I have read many, and eventually hope to read many more, but in the meantime, I keep wanting to find more. And I love it when I find books that package those passions and values in beautiful bindings with attractive covers and with old weathered pages that look as though others have shared those same passions that I have.

Call it Collector's Itch or call me crazy, but I love old, used books, and summer holidays provide me with the time to search them out. And I think I've infected most of my family with the same itch. (And we did make it to the beach, a forest and a waterfall, and to several historic landmarks in and around Victoria!)

© 2009 by Ken Peters

We want your soul

The culture of consumerism wants your soul. They want all of our passions to be focused on the glitz and bling of this material world. They want us living for what's now and what's new. But what does it profit us if we have all the fun in the world but neglect our soul (Matthew 16:26)?

Someone decided to approach consumerism from the lighter side and made a mini-musical about it. Why not? It mirrors the background music of our many malls and the flashing lights of our commercial strips. And yet the bags we fill can leave us as empty as the way the following video feels as it concludes...



It's worth a bit of reflection.

© 2009 by Ken Peters

Giving like I'll always have enough! (church bulletin cover)

It's so easy to fall into the mindset of "not enough." I think, "I need this!" and "I need to save for that!" and "I need to fix all that!" Such thoughts can leave me feeling needy when I actually have an abundance. And if I fall prey to such feelings, I can end up selfishly hoarding more and more while sharing less and less.

But God's Word offers a completely alternative way of living. Proverbs 11:24 says, "One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want." That is so counter-intuitive to the world's way of thinking -- or more specifically -- to my natural self's way of thinking. Proverbs 11:25 puts it a little differently: "Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and the one who waters will himself be watered." This is the "reaping what you sow" principle at work. If I look after others, I'll be looked after. As I bless others, I myself will be blessed.

It seems to me that this is only possible because God is involved in such matters. He must keep an eye out for those who are generous with what they have so that He can bless them with even more to give away. And if we believe that, it's an indication that we're trusting in God more than in our stuff. Proverbs 11:28 says, "Whoever trusts in riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf." Do you see how all these proverbs fit so well together? The inference of verse 28 is that we'll flourish like a well-watered plant when we trust in God rather than in riches, and the message of verse 25 is that we'll be well-watered as we generously water others with what we have.

In other words, trusting God leads to blessing by taking us down the avenue of generosity! That's a promise!

© 2009 by Ken Peters

Everyday choices

Everyday I face choices -- very practical choices to do with money. And sometimes I feel compelled to stop and ask myself how me-centered my choices have become. How much do my choices regarding money revolve around me? The alternative, of course, is that they ought to revolve around the Lord of my life, Jesus Christ.

But I feel like the commercial culture in which I'm immersed is constantly wooing me, wanting me to fix my mind on the things of this world. Electronics and entertainment -- recreation and recliners -- CDs and Starbucks. These are all good things that are okay to enjoy. But it can all begin to feel so important that I'd greatly resent it if some young rabbi told me to "Go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me." (Matthew 19:21). That's the trouble. When it comes to choosing, all our stuff and our pursuits have the potential to end up feeling far more attractive than Jesus.

St. Augustine once said of Jesus: "He loves You too little who loves anything together with You, which he loves not for your sake."

I also appreciate how John Piper puts it in the following video. Amidst the daily doses of commercialism thrust upon me wherever I turn, I'd do well to routinely set aside 3 minutes or so to watch this video every once in awhile.



© 2009 by Ken Peters

A new lamp

So just a few hours after posting "Living with Eternity in mind", Fiona and I went out to buy a new living room lamp. Our old one had broken, so we found ourselves out and about looking at lamps. Now in view of what I wrote on Friday morning, I have no worries that I'm in grave danger of becoming too focused on a new lamp. I was simply a bit taken aback at the price of lamps and the thought that we were now spending more money on stuff that fills our house. In essence, more money on stuff for me. Don't get me wrong. I'm not racked with guilt for buying a lamp. I'm just distracted by how much money we continually spend on making our living environment functional and attractive, and how challenging that makes it to have resources left over to share with people in need, a priority we don't want to lose.

And then I was reminded of the video below. A very funny video that chastens me for becoming too attached to the stuff in my life, and then sneaks in a plug that new stuff is much better than old! And of course, the main attraction in the video is a lamp. Take a look!



© 2009 by Ken Peters

Living with Eternity in mind

I've been asking myself a simple question lately: What am I living for? I think it's because there's something about all the turmoil in this world that makes me wonder how much of my life is focused on things that can't be shaken. I want to live for things that last, not for things that crumble. I want to get life from things that really matter, not from things for which I'll slap my credit card down with gusto. I want to be pursuing things that count for eternity rather than some flashy thing that may be exciting for a moment, but then amounts to nothing more than a nice little puff of smoke when the day is done.

That's the crux of what I'm wrestling with lately... I want to live with eternity in mind. Thinking about eternity changes everything. It changes my view of life. It changes how I view my CD collection. It changes what I think of fashions and gadgets. It changes my definition of successful or productive. It changes how I see my neighbour.

Jesus told a story about a very successful man who had filled his barns with goods and said to himself, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come. Take your ease. Eat, drink and be merry!" But God said to him, "You fool! This very night your soul is required of you. And now who will own what you have accumulated?" Jesus then said, "So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." (Luke 12:16-21)

To be "rich toward God" has eternity in mind. It means to be rich in the things that matter to God. Jesus is warning us here that it's foolish to be preoccupied in pursuing the temporal and material things of this world rather than on accumulating a treasure in heaven that will never fail.

John Piper describes it this way... "being 'rich toward God' means looking Godward for heavenly wealth. It means 'taking your ease' in him, finding your security in him. And it means using your money in such a way that enlarges the barn of your joy in heaven, not the barn of your comfort on earth. God gives us money on earth in order that we may invest it for dividends in heaven."

What I'm asking boils down to this: Life is short. Compared to eternity, life on this earth is very short. I'm going to die one day and I don't know when. So am I living my brief life on this earth in a way that counts for the eternity that follows?

As morbid as it sounds, when I drive past cemeteries, it's not unusual for me to consider that I'm going to be in the ground one day. All that I'm doing with my life will come to an end. My CD collection will mean nothing to me then. All my books? Someone else will get them. So what am I pursuing that will still have significance when I enter eternity in heaven?

Two vital things are mentioned in this passage of Luke 12. First, in Luke 12:8-9, Jesus explains that everyone on this earth who acknowledges who He truly is will later be acknowledged by Jesus in heaven. But whoever denies who Jesus is will be denied by Jesus in heaven. That is of foremost importance. But Luke 12 tells us a second thing about how to live for eternity, and it's an implication of actually acknowledging Jesus as Lord. Jesus says, "Sell your possessions and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with wallets that do not grow old and will have no holes in them so that you will have a treasure in heaven that will not fail and where no thief can steal it and no moth destroy it. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Luke 12:33-34).

I don't see this as an edict to make ourselves poor by giving all we have to the poor. I believe God wants to materially bless His people. Jesus is simply teaching us not to make such blessings our treasure, but rather to handle those blessings with the same generous spirit that God has expressed to us. As Frank Stirk writes in PK's magazine, "Seven", God measures success not by how much we earn, but by our willingness to part with it in order to bless others. That is how we can live so that we'll be rich toward God for an eternity in heaven, and a blessing to others while we remain here on this earth. And that is what I want to live for.

© 2009 by Ken Peters

Three Simple Steps

Why have I been going on and on about numbers and consumerism and more numbers? C’mon! Lighten up, right? What’s so important about how many cups we use as a society anyway? From all those pictures in my previous posting, one might think that all I’m concerned about is how much ends up in our landfills. Though that might be a valid concern, it’s not something I think about much.

I don’t get stirred up about consumerism for ecological reasons. In fact, my primary concern about consumerism isn’t even about excess. That’s because the Bible isn’t against wealth. In fact, it says that wealth is from God. My primary concern about consumerism is about needs – desperate needs. We as Westerners have so much to share, and can easily do so with little impact on our comfortable Western lifestyles. And if we actually do want to impact our lifestyles, there are people in this world who truly need the help we can offer.

All it takes is a little investigating, a little thought, and then a decision or two.

Investigating is easy. For example, just try doing a Google search on the Democratic Republic of Congo. The UN has recently declared it to be the worst place in the world to be a child. If you really want to know, keep reading and you’ll discover that earlier this year, a UNICEF report declared that the DRC was one of 11 countries where 20% of children die before the age of five. According to other news clips you’ll find, at the beginning of 2008, 45,000 people were dying each month, nearly half of them children, and the fighting has recently intensified!

If you want to know details, the Guardian in the UK reported that “The International Rescue Committee said preventable diseases and starvation aggravated by conflict have claimed 5.4 million lives since the beginning of the second Congo war in 1998, equivalent to the population of Denmark. Although the war officially ended in 2002, malaria, diarrhoea, pneumonia and malnutrition continue to claim thousands of lives. The study of 14,000 households across Congo between January 2006 and April 2007 found that nearly half of all the deaths were of children under the age of five, who make up only 19% of the population.” This is why many people don’t take this first step – the truth is too awful to know, the images too hard to see.

But if you get that far, the next thing you’ll want to investigate is who’s offering meaningful help? I tend to check Samaritan’s Purse first, and I generally find that they’re involved in the area I’m concerned about. But another Google search will reveal many agencies helping in any significant crisis.

If you’ve taken the time to investigate a situation like that, you’re already way ahead of your average Western consumer. Way to go! Now step 2 is to simply think a little. Think about whether you want to give once in awhile to needs like these, or on a routine basis. If you only want to do it once in awhile, just think about how much you can spare right now – how much money do you have to give? That’s what most people do. They give occasionally as situations arise. Giving routinely is simply unaffordable to many because their budget is maxed out with too many other monthly bills and payments.

This is where my concerns with consumerism arise, and this is where it’s worth thinking about what we can do without in order to give more generously to desperately needy people. It’s this kind of regular giving that makes a huge difference to those trying to feed the hungry, but it’s also the kind that requires sacrifice from a people who are used to having what they want when they want it.

And that brings us to step 3: a decision or two. What regular expense will I give up so that I can afford to give regularly to those who need my help? Will it be a few of those 410,000 coffee cups that are used every 15 minutes? Or will it be a few of those 2 million plastic beverage bottles that are used every 5 minutes? Once you get used to thinking this way, you may consider giving up things of even more value in your life, like instead of buying as many CDs or DVDs, I’ll give to others instead. Or maybe, spend less on sports or leisure activities. For us, this is a primary reason we gave up cable TV at our house.

The challenge for us all is to match our Western lifestyles with the compassion and convictions of our hearts. What can you do? Investigate. Think a little about your consumer lifestyle. Then, make a decision or two. If we all do that, those three simple steps will make a huge difference in a world of need!

© 2009 by Ken Peters

Photographing statistics

If you've read my posting below called "The Value of Numbers," or if you've visited the live global stats counter at the bottom of this page, you'll have noticed my appreciation for numbers. Numbers tell us a lot. But not everyone loves numbers, and in fact, as I wrote in "The Value of Numbers," most of us find what we see with our eyes more compelling than what we can count on our fingers.

I also wrote in my previous posting how troubling I find consumerism (which is often most easily measured by numbers). Part of my trouble with consumerism is my own vulnerability to it. But the other reason is because I see a world pursuing it without reservation and I can see where that will inevitably lead. That's why I believe that economics will be as great a factor in the fulfillment of Biblical end-time prophecies as religion or politics. Just bear in mind that the original meaning of "consume" is to destroy.

So when I discovered the following photographs produced by Chris Jordan as a unique visual and statistical perspective of contemporary American culture, I found them compelling in a completely new way than all the scrolling numbers in the statometer at the bottom of my blog! They gave me visual images of the statistics of consumerism -- images that wowed me. They gave me a visual impression of how much money we spend on so much discretional stuff while so much of the world struggles just to provide for their basic needs. Take a look!

As you view the images below, you can click on any image to see it full-sized.

Photo below: 2 million plastic beverage bottles, the number used in the US every 5 minutes

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Photo below: 426,000 cell phones -- the number of cell phones retired in the US every day

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Photo below: 106,000 aluminum cans, the number used in the US every thirty seconds

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Photo below: 410,000 paper cups, the number of disposable hot-beverage paper cups used in the US every fifteen minutes.
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Photo below: 60,000 plastic bags, the number used in the US every five seconds
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Photo below: 30,000 reams of office paper, or 15 million sheets, equal to the amount of office paper used in the US every five minutes

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Desires for Other Things

I walked into Wal-Mart the night before Halloween and found that the promotional area just inside their doors was already 90% Christmas stuff. There's no sentimentality in consumerism. Before a holiday is even over (though I'm stooping quite low in order to refer to Halloween as a holiday), the boxes for the next one are being carted out. It's not, "Wasn't that nice?", but rather, "What's next?!"

And though I bristle at the crass consumerism of the retail world, I must admit that I do get distracted by the materialism of the culture in which I live. I want stuff. The world's teetering economies depend on us to do so. And I can't deny that the attraction of stuff has had an impact on my pursuit of God -- diluting my passion for Him. Sure, I've steered clear of most techno-gadgets and I don't even get any channels on my 21" TV. And sure, I've resisted putting new flooring in our house and I'm happy buying used clothes. But I can still end up wanting way more used shirts than any one person needs! And despite my restraints, I still feel drawn to look through the weekly flyers to see if there's more stuff to be had at a reasonable price!

So as I read Mark 4:18-19 recently, I felt a twinge of conviction and wondered at how fruitful my life is for God. Jesus is speaking there of the seed that fell among thorns, and He says, "but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful."

I felt pricked (as if by a thorn) as I read those verses, and as I wondered at the amount of fruit in my life -- in terms of people being saved and in terms of the amount my life shines before an unsaved world the way Jesus said it should in the subsequent verses of 4:21-22. I felt pricked because I know that I'm rich (by most standards of this world), and I have many possessions that can cause me worry if there's trouble with them (car repairs, an appliance on the blink, a basement shifting, a memory-stick lost). And I can certainly feel "desires for other things" that distract me from the things that really matter to God. "Desires for other things enter in and choke the word and it becomes unfruitful." How much more fruitful would I be if my desire to see my neighbour saved was stronger than my desire for books or CDs or good sale prices? What an indictment that such things should appear more important to me!

I realize that the availability of so much stuff in this culture will always have the potential to be as thorns that want to choke the word in my life. But even with the retail world gearing up for the Christmas season, I must not let that happen! May I always want God's will for my life more than any temporary material pleasure. And may Jesus always be the Treasure of my heart, even amongst so much product glitz and excess!

© 2008 by Ken Peters

A Treasure worth Chasing (church bulletin cover)

I still clearly remember him, sitting up there on the highest shelf of a store display, so that I had to crane my young neck back to stare in awe at his hulking form. I couldn’t reach him with my hands, but my imagination knew no such limitations as I imagined him free from his stifling box and sitting on the top shelf of my bedroom dresser. Tyrannosaurus Rex: The fiercest and most terrifying creature that has ever walked the earth. This snap-together model had been brilliantly created to inspire the same dread that the living beasts must have roused in their prey of ages past. He was so tall, that I had to measure if there was room for him between my shelf and my ceiling. And his moving jaws were filled with glow-in-the-dark teeth. I would gaze up at the box and imagine myself lying in bed, staring at his rows of fearsome teeth glowing in the night. I wanted this prize. I would save every penny until it was mine. And there came a day when he was. I saved and saved my dimes and quarters until I had the twenty-something dollars that he cost – and then – I took him home: a prize worthy of the price I had paid!

Children understand the excitement of a prize. Their eyes light up more easily at the thought of something new and wonderful than do the more road-weary eyes of grown-ups around them. And yet I’m sure we can all think of one thing or another that has captured our imagination and that we just had to have.

Many such things are gifts from God that He’s pleased we enjoy. But in the midst of enjoying such blessings, it is vital that the things of this earth not become our treasure. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:34). God wants to be the treasure we are most passionate about pursuing, and so we must regularly check our hearts to be sure that our relationship with God is still the greatest treasure we chase. Are we so enthralled with the Gospel that we are willing to spend whatever it takes to get it off a shelf and into our lives? It’s difficult in this culture of iPods and HDTVs and all-inclusive holidays, but all those things are pale in comparison to knowing the living God. Jesus is a King worthy of immeasurable awe, and the Gospel is a message of endless wonder. May we experience increased revelation of that this summer so that Jesus remains a treasure that outshines anything else we enjoy!

© 2008 by Ken Peters

Giving like we just can’t help it!

I don’t write letters to newspaper editors very often, but the last few times I’ve done so, it’s been in response to articles that highlight our society’s commitment to the high life while so many desperately poor people suffer all around us. I wrote such a letter to the National Post in response to an article in Friday’s paper entitled, “The problem with the right to food.” The article was a reaction to the UN declaring that because having food is "a right," wealthy nations are obligated to help the poor. I felt that the writer's reaction to this declaration was very much a “take care of yourselves” kind of attitude toward the people of the two-thirds world. The letter I wrote to the Post ended up being one of the “Letters of the Day” in Saturday’s paper, though it was somewhat abbreviated. Here is what I wrote in full…

Dear Editor,
In Karen Selick’s case against the “right to food,” she seems more concerned about the right for the wealthy well-fed West to have the right to “rest, leisure and reasonable limitation of working hours” than about the fact that, as you also reported, six million children under the age of five in Ethiopia alone are presently at risk of acute malnutrition. This is the problem with a culture obsessed with affluence – we’re so concerned about what we might have to go without while trying to think as little as possible about those who might need it more. If insisting on the “right to food” is so problematic to Ms. Selick, then why not change the focus to the right to give? We have incredible resources in North America. We consume far more than any other part of the world to sustain our lifestyles, and my salary actually puts me in the top 2% of the world’s wage earners even though my gross salary is less than $50,000. My feeling is that, as a resident of this planet, with great abundance comes great responsibility. Whatever rights to food that the starving masses of the world have or don’t have, I believe that we have a responsibility, and the right, to care about their plight. So let’s not get distracted by any “one-world socialism” conspiracies while literally millions are dying of starvation while we pile our plates high with food everyday.
Ken Peters, Winnipeg, MB

The Bible is clear that everyone has a responsibility to look out for the interests of the poor: Government leaders, spiritual leaders, God’s people, citizens of the world, everyone. Even a godless city like Sodom was judged for having “abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy” (Ezek. 16:49). If God expected that of Sodom, all the more reason that God’s people should be concerned about the poor. And when someone writes something for all of Canada to read, saying that it’s wrong to tell someone that they have to give up some of their food just because someone without food feels they have a right to eat, I want to stand up and shout – Did we do something to deserve to be born in this affluent nation? Is the privilege we enjoy purely a result of our own hard work or is it a gift from God? And what did those starving, dying children in Burma or Ethiopia or Haiti do to deserve their low, impoverished place in this world? If we have abundance, it’s by the grace of God. And if we don't like someone telling us that because they feel someone has a right to something we have in abundance, we have to give some to them, then what do we think of God telling us that? I guess the question for the Christian then is -- Is this something that God tells us that we must do, or is it something He'd just kind of like us to do?

There’s no shortage of Biblical support for being generous toward the poor. My feeling is that it’s simply not optional. God expects it of us. He provides grace and resources to us so that we can obey Him in this. And when God’s people choose to give generously and sacrificially the way God wants us to, we become extremely bright lights amidst the desperate neediness of this world.

© 2008 by Ken Peters

Justice, Kindness and Humility

I don’t know about you, but I feel kind of overwhelmed by the news these days. A cyclone in Myanmar, an earthquake in China, tens of thousands of people killed – probably over 100,000 before all is said and done. And these are just the most devastating disasters being reported. On CNN.com, the article on China’s earthquake contains a video link that says, “Watch workers dig out the body of small child at the site of a collapsed school in China.” My reaction is, “No, I’m sorry, but I don’t I don’t want to watch that. I will not watch it.” And like so many others, I want to shield myself from the pain.

But God calls us to something nobler than that. We as God’s people should not be shielding our eyes from the needs of the nations. Certainly we must pray – pray for help to come quickly and for lives to be saved. That’s good, but if we stop there, we fall short. When people are suffering, God calls His people to action. “He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?”” (Micah 6:8). Justice, kindness, humility. This requirement was not aimed at some specialized band of aid workers in the Israel of Micah’s day. It was spoken to God’s people in general. And Jesus didn’t hesitate to reinforce it. In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus describes the difference between those who go to heaven and those who go to hell as being how they responded to the poor. In other words, helping the needy is still required of God’s people.

Fast-forward to today, and it’s easy to see that North American Christians have been blessed with enormous resources. Personally, this sobers me. And it leaves me periodically asking myself: As one of the richest people on the planet (my family income level places me in the top 1%), what am I doing with the abundant wealth God has given me? Am I sharing it when I hear that the destitute are experiencing such catastrophes? My assumption in this is that the abundance God has given me is for others beside me and my own. It’s for more than my CDs and DVDs, my Starbucks and my stereos, my internet shopping and my impulse purchases. If I need to change my lifestyle so that I’ve got resources to share, I’d better figure that out, for God expects obedience in this. And as we can become conduits of the blessings God has given us, then the world will surely see “justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” from the people of God (Amos 5:24).

I do understand that nobody can afford to make a meaningful donation to help with every catastrophe that happens in this world. But if we decide in our hearts to be generous, and listen for God’s Spirit to prompt us, we will provide justice and kindness where it is needed and God will bless us for our obedience (Isaiah 58:10-12).

© 2008 by Ken Peters