college
Malachi 3:5-6
5 "Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers  and against the adulterers  and against those who swear  falsely, and against those who oppress the wage  earner in his wages, the widow  and the orphan,  and those who turn aside the alien   and do not fear  Me," says the LORD of hosts. 6 "For I,  the LORD, do  not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are  not consumed.

This passage lists some things to which God was going to "draw near in judgment."  I don't know exactly what that means, but it doesn't sound fun.  I want God to "draw near" but not in that manner.  The list includes five things that God is going to judge.  The last three are issues that I have become passionate about over the past several months.  The first two are interesting but not the focus of this devotion- they are:
     1.  Sorcerers-  I don't know what exactly that means either, but it sound mysterious.  Maybe     they were like OT David Blaines or Chris Angels.  Those guys give me the creeps.
     2.  Those who swear falsely- This is basically liars.  I have noticed lately that I have a     tendency to lie.  Isn't that awful?  I like to exaggerate to make myself appear better to     people.  I pray that God will help me deal with that.
    
      The last three are the focus:
      3.  Those who oppress the wage earner in his wages-  Fair Trade
         Evidently way back then, people weren't getting paid a fair wage for their labor.  Glad               things have changed today (note the sarcasm).  People all over the world are forced into          an industry where they are paid an unfair wage.  Many workers begin these "jobs" to make          a living for their family in impoverished communities, but are taken advantage of and paid          an unreasonably low wage.  This hit home for me when I realized that as Americans we               greatly contribute to this problem.  Our consumption power sets the tone for many parts          of the world.  For instance, the shirt that I purchase could have been made by someone in          Indonesia working in a sweat shop.  Upon the purchase of that shirt, on a minute scale, I          have contributed to that person's terrible working conditions.  Or maybe the coffee bean          that was ground to make the cup of coffee that I drink every day was grown by a farmer          who is basically a modern day slave- working under forced, unfair conditions.  We can help          the terrible phenomenon simply by becoming more aware of the purchases we make.                Wikipedia defines the goal of "fair trade":
                        "Fair trade's strategic intent is to deliberately work with marginalised producers                          and workers in order to help them move from a position of vulnerability to                               security and economic self-sufficiency. It also aims at empowering them to                              become stakeholders in their own organizations and actively play a wider role                         in the global arena to achieve greater equity in international trade." 
         I don't know about you, but I want to move from being a consumer to a contributer.  So               God help us become more informed on this issue and do our part, no matter how small, to          care for our brothers and sisters who are providing for our service economy.
    
      4.  Those who oppress the widow and the orphan-  More To Come on This
      5.  Those who turn aside the alien- How are we treating the immigants living in our                         communities?

(I will expound on these last two soon)  Let me your thoughts on fair trade first by going to the message board- click here.