Friday 18 April 2008

I'm a hypocrite.

I decided a year or more back not to buy cheap Chinese stuff. The mower I bought is clearly made down to a price, and although it's starting its 3rd season now, performance is quite inferior to the mountfield I'd run for years before. There were good reasons for buying a brand new mower, but experience (and much fore-thought) tells us that you frequently get what you pay for, and in this case there are environmental and sociological reasons to spend more on a European made device too.

Fast forward to this week. Ebuyer have had a bunch of cheap power tools in for some time. I do occasionally build stuff, and have wanted a circular saw since my old Black and Decker died (from cutting up firewood - knackered gearbox, burned brushes). So I ordered one to go in with some other stuff and get free postage.

D'oh!

It'll probably work fine, and I'm helping feed poor people somewhere, but I've also contributed to being part of the problem rather than part of the (local) solution. Now I can come up with some compelling arguments too, about how purchasing goods in huge amounts from china is a *good* thing, and it's making them dependent on the west and therefore more likely to be supportive of this society as they become ascendent while America vacates the position of dominant super-power. But I also see this situation as an unrighteous outcome of the excessive and unbridled greed of the west.

My greed, too.

I trust God to work in every situation for the good of those who love Him. But what about when that situation is brought about by greed, of which I have contributed a portion.

What future legacy have we created for our children?

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