The Dangers of a Throw-Away Society

                We live in an age where, at least in the United States and the developed world, we are told that if something is broken, or inconvenient for us to fix, to simply throw it away. If I have a television or a kitchen appliance that goes bad, I can go out and get a new one and toss out the broken. If this were the case only for material possessions, I probably would have talked myself out of writing this because all this is to me is sentimentalism, which is fine in its own right, because I am sentimental about many of my own possessions and I would not like to throw them away even if they are broken if they hold some sort of memory or meaning to me. No, unfortunately I cannot stop at bewailing the downfall of the mechanical skill of the common man that he or she cannot fix what has been broken. The last time I checked, the divorce rate in the United States was at 50 percent. That is absolutely insane to me, because that tells me that half of the American people who get married and run into problems do not fix their problems with one another and become stronger for it, but simply give up and turn their backs on the wedding vows that they swore to uphold when the minister pronounced them husband and wife. I understand that not all weddings are of the religious sort, but given that around 82 percent of Americans are religious I feel safe in making that bet. I’m curious as to why that is, that a couple, instead of trying to work through the problems they are having, would rather give up and throw away however many years that they invested in one another and go find other pastures. Not to mention that if there are children involved a divorce almost never leaves a positive impact on that child. I understand that Christ left certain instructions under which a divorce should be performed, such as in a case of infidelity, so I am perfectly aware that divorces are going to happen and maybe the families are better off then. But what about cases where the couple involved “fell out of love”? To me this seems indicative of laziness or impatience on one or both of the parties involved. I could probably list out all of the other negative characteristics that would lead to these excuses for a divorce, but it would take me a while. I would rather focus your attention on what the Bible states that love should be. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 sums it up rather nicely: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.” If we could hold to these characteristics, I believe the world would be a much better place. Unfortunately, all humans are flawed and fall short of the glory and perfection that God intended us for (Romans 3:23). This is where each party involved must have a capacity of grace and forgiveness so that when one partner messes up, the other can help to correct the mistake and forgive any transgressions committed. This implies a two way street, where both parties are submissive to one another and are attentive to each other’s needs.

                Now unfortunately there is another matter of our throw-away society that I feel I have to address. If you keep up with the facebook page devoted to this blog, you will have seen a recent video I shared on the abortion industry and how disgusting of a practice it is to me. The thought to me that if the process of bringing and cultivating a life into this world is inconvenient it can be terminated and that there are people out there who would condone this as freedom breaks my heart. I understand that there are pregnancies brought about by rape and that the mother probably doesn’t want a reminder of the gruesome act done to her, but is it fair that an innocent life that had nothing to do with it will be killed to avoid that reminder? Why not let the child be adopted into another family so that both parties may be satisfied? I understand that the adoption programs in the United States are not the best and are more or less populated with older unwanted or abused children. What about children or are screened to be born with genetic disorders such as Down’s syndrome or be stillborn or cause harm to the mother? As I stated on facebook, I hold to the contention that every human life is sacred and we should try to preserve every one that we possibly can. Notice how I qualified this statement. In the case where the child will probably be born dead or cause harm to the mother I believe needs to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by medical professionals that area much more qualified than a graduate student with a keyboard and access to the internet. As far as the genetic disorders come in, would you rather have a life that is lower in quality or not a life at all? I knew a few families with children that had Down’s or other detrimental conditions like this and they seemed to be as loving toward the child as anything else, if not more so. I could ask you where do you draw that line on what genetic condition qualifies a termination in abortion. If the child can be determined to be born autistic, dyslexic, or maybe just an odd child with personality quirks, when do you decide to terminate the abortion? This type of thinking starts getting really close to the idea of eugenics, where people start setting themselves up as gods, deciding who gets to come into the world and who doesn’t depending on what is in their DNA and not their potential to help mankind. On a positive side, if gene therapy could fix Down’s or whatever condition you think deserves and abortion, would you go for it, even though the procedure is more expensive than the abortion? In whatever solution we choose, there is much work to be done, either research in the laboratory, or reform in the systems we have in place.

                In this consumer society that we live in, we tend to take for granted the things that we cannot replace once they are broken or gone from our lives. I would  hope that you would evaluate your priorities and reaffirm what you believe is true, or maybe you would be convicted over what you have placed higher in your list relative to something that is much more important. I would hope that no matter who you are, how much you make, or what kind of family you have, that God and your relationship with him would be at the top of your list. This relationship with the creator of the universe is the one thing that matters from now into eternity. It matters so much on both ends that God himself made himself human and died in the most brutal and agonizing way possible so that you might be able to enter into fellowship with him and understand why you are here on this earth and that you might be eternally in his presence when your time here is over. God bless you and have a good rest of your day.