Living Ethically In The Modern WorldSample

The technological revolution has shaped a 24/7 culture. We can shop, eat and work whenever we want to, all the time if we chose. Where we were previously restricted by the natural rhythm of night and day, now we can do what we want without restrictions or boundaries.   This has brought us freedom but also a new kind of imprisonment, most often to our portable devices which we typically never switch off. Even when we are exhausted, we check Facebook one more time or explore the latest online sales. Not only are we denying our bodies, brains and souls the opportunity to rest, but we are robbing the earth of resources as we demand more and more from it.    A few years ago, a BBC documentary revealed the working conditions for employees of the global company Amazon. The footage was taken in one of their UK warehouses by an undercover reporter. Just one night shift involved walking for 11 miles and collecting new orders every 30 seconds, all for a pretty low wage. The reporter said, “We are machines, we are robots… We don’t think for ourselves, maybe they don’t trust us to think for ourselves as human beings.”    The endless desire for products to be delivered quicker than ever before does not happen miraculously but is powered by and depends on the earth and people. Our consumerist habits are increasingly depleting land, where raw materials come from; the air, which is polluted from production and waste methods; and people, who are required to generate goods at rapid speed to satisfy our desires. We are driven by having more, rather than just being as we were created to be.    Perhaps the kind of rest which God ordains is a rhythm we need to return to, both with how we use our time and how we consume. Perhaps we need to slow down and reassess what impact our lives are having on the planet and the people around the world.   As we come to the end of this study, reflecting on our connection to and responsibility for the earth, take a break from screens and shops to rest, either by spending time with friends and family, or discovering the beauty of God’s creation.