Usable or Not?

There was a great event in Gainesville over the weekend in which several local churches banded together to help clean up a building that had been sitting vacant for some time, in order to prepare it for some new groups and ministries.

Throughout the day, the dumpster grew more and more full of items that were not considered to be of any more use at that facility. So the items were thrown in the trash. Some of us struggle with the Reduce - Reuse- Recycle theme, and some of us don't.

One example of throwaway items were books. I kept thinking of how difficult it is to get books in Africa, specifically Mozambigue, but other countries as well, and how easy it is to throw them away in America. Just one of thousands of items that we throw away here in America as having no further use to us, and that are invaluable in other places where resources are more scarce.

Take water bottles for instance. Easy to get and everywhere in the USA right? I've seen children, in churches, in Mozambique, sipping out of liquor bottles, with the labels still on them, and you share your head, and then realize, that is what this child is using for a water bottle.

Is the solution then to just recycle everything, or donate these things to African countries? For a variety of reasons, it isn't that simple, nor is it actually that easy, or cost effective. It can certainly be done, but not in every situation. So the reality, and the perspective, is still there.

We have so much surplus in this country, that we throw away perfectly good and usable items simply because it is more cost effective for us to do that, while some other places lack those same items, but it is difficult to make the match sometimes between surplus and need (in terms of physical items) and justify the cost of sending those items to the people who may need them.

A while back, I found this ball, a beat up old volleyball, abandoned in a gutter.

It wasn't pretty, but I saved it as an example of one of those thing that has run out of useful life in the US, but would still have use in Africa. Probably 100 million African kids would clamor to play with this ball if they had the chance. I doubt if one single American child would claim it as their own. I think the very same thing can happen in our lives, with one important difference.

Many of us have been tossed aside, thrown away, deemed to be of no more use because of our past history or sin. But as long as we have breath and life, and we turn our lives and hearts to Jesus, not only can what was deemed unusable become usable in God's hands, He will make us new!

Colossians 3:5-10

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.