Minimum Wage

I just finished watching the first episode of a documentary series called 30 Days. Morgan Spurlock is the creator of this series. He also created Super-Size Me. The first episode was called "Minimum Wage." He and his fiance, Alex, move to Columbus, OH, with around no car, no credit cards, no place to live, and around $300 cash. They have to find a place to live, then find jobs. The experiment lasts thirty days. It was a pretty amazing experience for them.

My first thought is that I'm extremely grateful that I have always had everything I need. My last minimum wage job was when I first moved to Nashville, right out of college. I lived with three other guys in a church-owned home, so rent wasn't much. I also had my parents helping me a little. It wasn't a stressful situation. I don't know what it's like to not have what I need. The sad thing is that here in the U.S., many people know exactly what this is like. One out of every eight children under the age of twelve goes to bed hungry every night. But that's nothing compared to children in other parts of the world. Every year 15 million children die of hunger. (These statistics can be found here).

One of the most touching parts of the episode was when they heard about a church-sponsored store called "The Free Store." They were able to get blankets, furniture, dishes, etc. - all for free. They were blown away by the goodness and generosity they experienced. Alex later commented that it made her realize that humanity can be so good, and that the world isn't that bad of a place.

I continue to be faced with the question, "So what is my role in all of this?" Or, as a community of Christ-followers, "What is our role in this?" Over the next few weeks my goal is to put to paper (or to blog) some of my questions and thoughts relating to this issue.