O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. (Psalms 139:1-5 ESV) Do you ever stop and think about how many people exist that you have never met, know nothing about and will never come into contact with? What about people you know, but have no contact with anymore? Are they just an idea to you? Like they exist, but you have dehumanized them because you no longer have a relationship with them? I have seen this happen in a very real way in the last year. I have been guilty of it myself. When someone is no longer a part of our lives because he or she has hurt us, we can easily turn him or her into an idea. We can blame him or her for whatever we want, we can pass judgements like crazy, we can talk bad about him or her, saying whatever makes us feel better, all the while, forgetting this is a real person, with a real soul, whom Jesus has loved enough to die for and forgive unconditionally. These people whom we make into an idea live, day to day, with a life like ours, with struggles and needs like ours and with feelings like ours. The Lord has softened my heart to these real people in the last year. I read passages like the Psalm above and realize how intimately my God knows me and how intimately he knows those people who I have let become ideas, has beens. I was emailed this article this morning about the recent fires in the factories of Bangladesh. http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/677/t/0/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KEY=1275538 We go through life everyday, hearing stories of people and the harsh conditions they live and work in, but we don't make changes. Why? Because, it's sad, but these people are ideas to us...not the people God knows like in Psalm 139. It's not our friends or family working there. It's not us, making $.24 an hour, if we are lucky. It's not our 12 year old children having to sew boxes and boxes of clothes each day. So it's an idea. But the reality is, these REAL people, real children, real families, wake up to this life each day. And we benefit from their tragedies. We get the best deals, plenty of clothing and the newest things. Will I meet some of these people one day? If they know Jesus. But whether I do or not, the Lord knows them intimately. He created them. He made them and knows their every breath. And He loves them. And he calls me to love them too. So I have to decide. Do I save a few pennies at a big chain store, or do I choose only to purchase things that have been made in a just and ethical way, treating people not as ideas, but as humans, loved by God? Some will say, but I can't afford to buy other places. I can't either. But I can buy used clothing. I can buy from thrift stores. And frankly, I don't need as much as I tend to think I do. I can simplify my life. The reality is, unless I choose to live on a farm, raising my own food and making all of my clothing and goods, I won't be unable to 100% avoid buying from these companies. That's the sad reality of the world we live in. But, I can be mindful. I can be intentional. I can choose to not support these practices as much as possible. I can remember that someone's daughter is working these factories and that she is a real person, with a soul, whom Jesus loves. And I can pray for her. That she would know Jesus, so one day she will have it better than she does now. Because, ultimately, if she doesn't know Jesus, that factory is the best her life will ever be.