Disposables, recycling, and long-term commitments

If you repent, I will restore you (Jeremiah 15:19).

We live in a disposable culture. We have done away with cloth diapers in favor of disposable ones—who wants to wash such a stinky thing anyway? Few people have the patience or skill to mend torn clothing; it is easier to purchase something new. It is rarely worth it to repair a broken toaster; money is better spent on a replacement.

Our disposable culture has replaced glass milk jugs and soda bottles with containers that are only used once. Many people trade in their car every year for a newer model. Some prefer to rent a furnished apartment or townhouse instead of buying a home or furniture.

Our disposable culture has also influenced our relationships. Gone are the days when an employee would work his entire life for one company; now people jump from job to job, increasing the expense of hiring and training new workers. People move from one community to another, resulting in lives that have more casual acquaintances than long-term friends. And people view relationships as disposable; if a marriage falls on hard times, there is less interest in fixing the problem than in moving on to find someone new.

A disposable culture results in heaps of garbage. Our country has an increasing landfill problem, because most are not willing to fix what is broken or keep on using something that is getting old. Our society is also littered with emotional wreckage, a heap of pain that is the result of broken relationships. The problem keeps on growing because too many people are unwilling to work at salvaging love from hurt and disappointment.

In recent years, there have been efforts to encourage recycling. But recycling costs money and consumes energy. The environment would be better served if we would buy things that we intend to keep and maintain in good repair. The same is true of our relationships; people are not consumables with limited worth. People are worth investing in for the long term.

That’s how Jesus feels. That is why He suffered and died on the cross—to repair the broken relationship between God and us. Jesus does not view us as disposable; He believes that we are worth His time and effort.