- <h2>Where would Jesus shop?</h2>
Where would Jesus shop?
By Anne Gibbons
The News & Advance
Earlier this month I was one of many folks gathered at the new Walmart to receive “good neighbor” checks supporting the work of many local nonprofits. Although I did not tour the entire facility, the building was bright and clean, spacious and colorful, open and ready for business. Within hours, hundreds if not thousands of customers would flood through their doors in search of lower prices and the next rollback bargain.
Several days later I made my weekly trip to Lynchburg Grows to pick up my brown paper bag filled with organic produce from local farms and gardens. Lynchburg Grows is an amazing place. Once-abandoned greenhouses are now filled with thriving rosebushes, nutritious vegetables, and all manner of seasonal produce. Most of the work is done by volunteers, many who have overcome a variety of disabilities and who contribute greatly to the success of this operation. The small building which houses the coolers and from which weekly harvests are distributed is painted on the outside with a colorful mural. Though the number of customers doesn’t begin to rival that of Walmart, those who do support this local business are among the most generous people I know.
As I reflect on these two very different commercial operations, both located in Lynchburg, I couldn’t help but wonder: WWJS? Where would Jesus shop?
For sheer numbers alone, Jesus might find himself wandering the wide aisles of Walmart where a very diverse population of men, women, and children would probably be searching for lower prices as they searched through racks and filled their carts. I picture him striking up conversations with customers, lifting up children to smile at their faces, and listening to stories of those just struggling to make ends meet.
He might then move on to find the managers of the store to learn more about their policies and practices. Jesus might be curious as to how Walmart was able to offer such bargains.
According to an action alert from the National Labor Committee issued on July 28, a certain pair of blue jeans is sold for only $8 at Walmart because the young women garment workers who sew the jeans in Bangladesh are only paid 11½ cents an hour. They are expected to make 10 pairs of jeans an hour, working out to about 1.2 cents a pair. I suspect that Jesus might want to have a frank conversation with corporate managers to challenge the production policies in Third-World countries which contribute in part to the lower prices available at stores like Walmart in our own communities.
I imagine that Jesus would be fascinated, as I was, with the video and PowerPoint highlighting Wal-Mart’s efforts to care for the environment by “boosting energy efficiency, cutting down on waste and reducing greenhouse gases tied to global warming.” In February, Wal-Mart Chief Executive and President Mike Duke announced “an aggressive new goal to eliminate 20 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from the life cycle of the products we sell around the world by 2015.”
I’m guessing Jesus would be happy to hear the news. However, he’d probably also wonder about the effect of such a large store on the surrounding neighborhood and community. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has complained that “big box sprawl induced by mega-retailers such as Wal-Mart robs a state of its uniqueness, causes economic disinvestment in historic downtowns and loss of locally-owned businesses, and removes a sense of community and individuality we all love in our towns.”
After Jesus issued a few gentle challenges to Wal-Mart management, he’d probably give them a hug, wave goodbye to the customers and head down to Lynchburg Grows to visit with Derrick and Keith as Teresa prepared his brown paper bag filled with locally grown fresh peaches, squash and aromatic basil. Then he’d invite the volunteers there and the Wal-Mart employees all over to his place for a shared meal around his kitchen table. I’d love to be there and ask for myself — “So Jesus, where would you shop?”
Gibbons is associate chaplain at Lynchburg College.
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Picayune Train Depot
Amtrak’s Crescent train connects Picayune with the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Charlotte, Atlanta, Birmingham and New Orleans. Visit the Train Museum inside the Intramodal Center downtown. |
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