Heart, mindset and courage 

Laura Digan January 26, 2022 0 1

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1 Corinthians 12: 19-26 (NRSVA)

19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many members, yet one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’, nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ 22 On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and those members of the body that we think less honourable we clothe with greater honour, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; 24 whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honour to the inferior member, 25 that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it.

This week I heard a really interesting documentary on the BBC World Service titled ‘Tale of a Tiny Fish’. The documentary explored how a small fish called the Yaboi used to be plentiful in Senegal and was a staple of the Senegalese diet. However fishmeal factories have now multiplied across the coast of West Africa and the Yaboi is now being used to make fishmeal which is then exported all around the world to be fed to western pets, livestock and farmed fish like salmon in Europe and China. The documentary highlighted how children in Sweden enjoy a free school lunch until they are 16 years old and often on the menu is salmon. Salmon which is farmed and likely to have been fed fishmeal. So the children in Sweden are getting the benefit of the nutrients of the Yaboi which once would have fed Senegalese children. 

This documentary challenged me as to where and how the food I eat, the clothes I wear and the products I use are actually made. How does the food I eat, the clothes I wear and the products I use impact on other lives around the world, human and non-human? Are my lifestyle choices taking away or raising up? We are all interconnected. It is sobering to reflect that what I put in my mouth or on my back without much of a thought can severely impact another person or creature on the other side of the world. 

PRAYER:

Lord of all life,

Give me a heart that wants to be informed about the food I eat, the clothes and products that I buy. 

Help me to see the truth and not box away the facts that I would rather avoid. 

Give me the mindset and courage to purchase with responsibility and integrity instead of convenience and price. 

Amen