Prosperous Alberta
What is the deal with this amazing prosperous provence we live in. We are constantly being told how much money there is here and how well everyone is doing. Well all you have to do is look outside and you are bombarded with new vehicles everywhere. You try to drive down the highway and even if you are speeding, six brand new half tons will fly past you on there way to dig up our land in search of black gold. Mike is a carpenter and these guys are run off their feet trying to keep up with the demand for bigger and better houses, to store bigger and better stuff.
So here's the clincher, the cost of living is going so high that there are homeless people in Calgary that make $25 an hour. What?? Arent homeless people drunks and drug addicts that dont work(please note my sarcasm) What about all the parents who have to work crazy insane hours and never see their children so that their kids can grow up with the best toys and clothes? How about all the little companies shutting down because they cant afford to pay employees what the oil patch does so no one wants to work for them?
We have watched so many families and marriages disintigrate lately because Dad is gone for weeks on end to make the big oil money so his wife can go shopping to buy happiness. In one family we are close to, the mother told her 3 year old to run to Daddy. He ran right past and went to his uncle. What does that tell you?
Please tell me how this is a prosperous provence. As kids grow up with out family they make their own families, They call them gangs. They look for safety and support with a bunch of kids who have no idea what either of those things are. Our crime rates are just going to keep rising when there is no one around to teach kids morals, When there is no one to show them that love cant be bought at A&B Sound or a car dealership. What about suicide and drug rates when parents are meant to feel like failures because they cant afford the things that "the common Albertan" has.
Its time to rethink prosperity
So here's the clincher, the cost of living is going so high that there are homeless people in Calgary that make $25 an hour. What?? Arent homeless people drunks and drug addicts that dont work(please note my sarcasm) What about all the parents who have to work crazy insane hours and never see their children so that their kids can grow up with the best toys and clothes? How about all the little companies shutting down because they cant afford to pay employees what the oil patch does so no one wants to work for them?
We have watched so many families and marriages disintigrate lately because Dad is gone for weeks on end to make the big oil money so his wife can go shopping to buy happiness. In one family we are close to, the mother told her 3 year old to run to Daddy. He ran right past and went to his uncle. What does that tell you?
Please tell me how this is a prosperous provence. As kids grow up with out family they make their own families, They call them gangs. They look for safety and support with a bunch of kids who have no idea what either of those things are. Our crime rates are just going to keep rising when there is no one around to teach kids morals, When there is no one to show them that love cant be bought at A&B Sound or a car dealership. What about suicide and drug rates when parents are meant to feel like failures because they cant afford the things that "the common Albertan" has.
Its time to rethink prosperity
posted by Stahled at
1:59 PM
4 Comments:
Amen, sister.
Good post/incite Lynette. I've been thinking about similar stuff lately - That's crazy! $25/hour homeless people. What the. Well, I'd be homeless if I lived in Calgary for sure.
I've been learning a lot about the spirit of Mammon (Money) which is mentioned in the Bible (which I think is the spirit which is overtaking our culture... especially in AB)... we can see it with our eyes how evident this is.
$ in itself is not valuable... it's the opinions that people put behind it... so you can buy goods and services from other people. The value doesn't even stay the same... it fluctuates.
No wonder why people can't serve God & mammon at the same time... while one man seeks after God and follows God's values (ie. spending time and cherishing family) another person goes out and seeks to earn great amounts of $... which tears them apart from what is important in life. It's crazy how easy it is to slip into "serving" another master. I know I've been guilty of it.
My 2 cents.
Jesus talks about loving (trying to) 2 masters. In Matthew 19, a rich young man went away sad after chatting with Jesus. Jesus told him that although he was a good guy, there was still something getting in the way. He told him to sell everything and give to the poor. The young guy went away sad. Why? Because he knew it was true? NO! He went away sad because he had great wealth and knew he wanted bling-bling more than Jesus. He knew where his allegiance lay.
In Alberta, we see all the shiny trucks, In Vancouver, it was cars, a blatant spending on clothing, coffees, meals out and personal stuff. No different anywhere.
We hear about the big corporations making annual profits exceeding 53 BILLION dollars and many want their cut. We’ve all lost track of contentment. We admonish one another with gifts. We reward one another with things. We spend what we don’t have because it has been made too easy to do so. We’ve been sucked in! We believe we deserve stuff.
Sometimes, I’m caught off guard as I pull into the driveway of my 1977 trailer. Sometimes I want more than what I see. That feeling is fleeting when I enter the tin can and my family greets me. I’m a rich man.
We’re all sucked in to some degree. I have Internet, satellite TV and a cell phone. I’m over weight because I over-consume.
Time to get reconnected to what really matters…thanx for the whack to my head!
The photo of S. with the stick…aside from the necessary essentials, her contentedness at that moment, was cost-free.
If only we could be so happy.
Well put. This is some of that old Testament fire......Again, well put.
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