{"id":16996,"date":"2021-04-27T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-27T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/urc\/urc-daily-devotion-27th-april-2021"},"modified":"2021-04-27T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-04-27T05:00:00","slug":"urc-daily-devotion-27th-april-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/urc-daily-devotion-27th-april-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"URC Daily Devotion 27th April 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

Tuesday 27th April 2021
The Rich Stealing from the Poor <\/strong><\/p>\n

Exodus 20: 15<\/strong><\/p>\n

You shall not steal.<\/p>\n

Proverbs 22: 22-23<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do not rob the poor because they are poor or crush the afflicted at the gate; for the Lord pleads their cause and despoils of life those who despoil them. <\/p>\n

Reflection<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s sad to reflect that little has changed since God spoke the 10 Commandments. Old and New testament alike warn us against exploiting poor people and the prophets predicted dire consequences if the rich didn\u2019t mend their ways\u2026 Think of Amos ranting at the wealthy classes, calling them names, and predicting horrendous consequences from God if they didn\u2019t start to look after their servants who were paid little or nothing; or James as he too warns: \u201cThe wages of the labourers \u2026 which you kept back by fraud, cry out against you\u201d (James 6 :4)<\/p>\n

That theme of social justice crops up again and again, Jesus himself makes it clear that everyone has a responsibility to look after people less well-off than themselves.<\/p>\n

Yet still the exploitation goes on.<\/p>\n

As I write we are heading towards Fairtrade Fortnight, once again raising awareness of the predicament of farmers who provide some of our food and luxuries. I\u2019ve just been reading about women and men who provide chocolate for our delight. I knew their situation was bad but didn\u2019t realise the scale and am horrified to read that \u2018despite the UK chocolate industry being \u00a34 billion each year most cocoa farmers [are] living in abject poverty, typically earning just 74p a day\u2019.  SEVENTY-FOUR PENCE a day! That\u2019s an awful example of \u2018rich\u2019 stealing from \u2018poor\u2019. If you\u2019re a chocolate fan like me (there are more of us since lockdown began), does it cross your mind that chocolate is too cheap?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to look the other way – maybe you don\u2019t like chocolate, maybe we don\u2019t think of ourselves as \u2018rich\u2019 – but who made those cheap clothes? And who harvested those vegetables?<\/p>\n

If I\u2019m buying cheap, I am almost certainly stealing from someone who\u2019s living in poverty. If it seems too good to be true \u2013 it is!
  
Prayer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lord
We pray for people trapped by poverty
as they provide luxuries
for those of us who don\u2019t think we\u2019re \u2018rich\u2019.
Help us to buy with care
and to look for labels that show fair trade.
Lord we pray for the day when the whole world
lives your Kingdom values –
when we all care about and look after each other.
We pray for the day when exploitation is no more
Amen <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tuesday 27th April 2021The Rich Stealing from the Poor  Exodus 20: 15 You shall not steal. Proverbs 22: 22-23 Do not rob the poor because they are poor or crush the afflicted at the gate; for the Lord pleads their cause and despoils of life those who despoil them.  Reflection It\u2019s sad to reflect that … <\/p>\n

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