Blog like a Champion

Something is driving me crazy in recent days. I am being influenced by the call to action in Not for Sale  and Ending Slavery. When I read the stories of young people forced into slavery, I can’t help but take stock of everything I consume. I went into Dick’s Sporting goods the other day and imagined all the children that make the shoes, clothes, and athletic gear standing next to the products they produce wondering why they have to sit chained to a sewing machine all day so I can have some dumb— rain jacket. These thoughts paralyze and often cause me to seek mindless escape (a popular but idiotic Hollywood blockbuster). What I constantly remind myself is that this conviction or godly sorrow leads to repentance. This “nudge to do right” comes from the gentle love of God. If I am driven to holiness by guilt, I become a Pharisee. So a commitment to “fair trade” or things of the like must come from a love for God or people. Do I love the kid that made my socks? I don’t see him. But I don’t see Jesus either.