And he [the land beast] controls everything; the small and the great, the rich and the poor, the free and the slave; so that he might place a mark upon their right hands or upon their foreheads, so that no one might be able to buy or sell except the one who has the mark, the name of the beast or the number of his name. Rev. 13:16, 17.
The time will come when a worldwide confederacy of religion and state will seek to impose its will on true believers. At that time it will not allow those who refuse to go along with the system to buy or sell. But what if this text provides a clue to how we should choose to live all of the time? What if our buying and selling gives tacit approval to a system that coerces and harms people? Are there times when choosing to buy and sell is like giving allegiance to the mark of the beast? Consider the following.
The beatings are routine. The supervisors allow only two bathroom breaks in a 14-hour workday and search every opening of the body before and after work. Pregnancy is ground for dismissal. That's why Isabel has more than once found fetuses on the bathroom floor as women sought desperately to keep their jobs in this grueling and demanding sweatshop. The jeans she and her colleagues make sell for more than $30 in popular clothing stores. The women, however, get paid 20 cents a pair.
This is not an isolated case. In a turbulent corner of Africa children as young as 3 years of age get lowered into the dark heart of diamond mines to harvest the expensive gems. Called conflict diamonds, the stones come from areas controlled by factions opposed to the government. They sell the diamonds to finance military insurrections.
Although the stones they find are worth thousands of dollars, the lives of these children are dispensable. Poor air and tainted water causes sickness, and rebel soldiers often maim, abuse, or kill the young workers. Children who do not work receive severe beatings or dismemberment. Such children trade in their lives to provide the world with the modern symbol of forever.
As children of God, we need to be aware of how our lifestyle choices affect others, particularly those who cannot speak up for themselves. God calls us to defend the defenseless. Sometimes a bargain for us gets purchased through the deprivation of others. Loving things more than people is not pleasing in God's sight. Perhaps the time has come to ask hard questions about our buying and selling.
Lord, I cannot solve all the world's problems, but I can make a difference. Open my heart to make a real difference today, one choice at a time.
The time will come when a worldwide confederacy of religion and state will seek to impose its will on true believers. At that time it will not allow those who refuse to go along with the system to buy or sell. But what if this text provides a clue to how we should choose to live all of the time? What if our buying and selling gives tacit approval to a system that coerces and harms people? Are there times when choosing to buy and sell is like giving allegiance to the mark of the beast? Consider the following.
The beatings are routine. The supervisors allow only two bathroom breaks in a 14-hour workday and search every opening of the body before and after work. Pregnancy is ground for dismissal. That's why Isabel has more than once found fetuses on the bathroom floor as women sought desperately to keep their jobs in this grueling and demanding sweatshop. The jeans she and her colleagues make sell for more than $30 in popular clothing stores. The women, however, get paid 20 cents a pair.
This is not an isolated case. In a turbulent corner of Africa children as young as 3 years of age get lowered into the dark heart of diamond mines to harvest the expensive gems. Called conflict diamonds, the stones come from areas controlled by factions opposed to the government. They sell the diamonds to finance military insurrections.
Although the stones they find are worth thousands of dollars, the lives of these children are dispensable. Poor air and tainted water causes sickness, and rebel soldiers often maim, abuse, or kill the young workers. Children who do not work receive severe beatings or dismemberment. Such children trade in their lives to provide the world with the modern symbol of forever.
As children of God, we need to be aware of how our lifestyle choices affect others, particularly those who cannot speak up for themselves. God calls us to defend the defenseless. Sometimes a bargain for us gets purchased through the deprivation of others. Loving things more than people is not pleasing in God's sight. Perhaps the time has come to ask hard questions about our buying and selling.
Lord, I cannot solve all the world's problems, but I can make a difference. Open my heart to make a real difference today, one choice at a time.
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