Twenty five years ago the dentist I went to had a sign in his office that said "The bliss of a low price is long forgotten when the pain of inferior quality shows up". The longevity of items we choose or purchase should be weighed against the price we paid, when comparing to other price points for similar things that will last for less time. The low salary of employees who accomplish little, are far more expensive than a highly paid employee that performs well. An old English saying is "penny wise and pound foolish". It meant a person was tight with money in small things but lost all their savings and more with big things. Wal-Mart has had an enormous effect on our country in the past 25 years by forcing their vendors to provide lower price points on the items they carry. As consumers warmed to the lower quality and price points provided by these vendors, the retail competitors of Wal-Mart were forced to reduce the quality of their goods to compete in the marketplace. Companies who provide high quality goods have been forced to find retail channels that cater to groups other than the masses. More and more consumer goods have become disposable. As costs were driven out of the supply chain, manufacturing moved to other countries that provided lower production costs. When Sam Walton was alive Wal-Mart advertised that their products were made in America, but no longer. Other third world countries have offered labor at even lower rates, moving manufacturing jobs to their people. The American consumers that liked the low prices found more of their own jobs disappearing and Wal-Mart products came from China and Indonesia, among others.
Without jobs, Americans had less money to spend, causing retailers to find even cheaper means of providing goods. When the toys they bought their children turned out to have potentially deadly lead in the paint, they were outraged. When the helpful employees at stores they shopped were replaced with fewer lower paid people who didn't know enough to help, they were disgusted. The result of this multi-decade process has been a huge decline in the number of people in the U.S. considered middle income, as more people are employed at low quality jobs, that pay less than what is called a livable wage. When health warnings go out because our food sources as a country have been moved beyond the inspection of a bloated government agency, nothing changes to prevent the next one. The percentage of low income workers is now big enough to control the election of politicians who promise higher "minimum wages". The percentage of the population employed in non-government jobs is at the lowest in history, about 58%. Combine folks who get their incomes from the government and those who make less than a "livable" wage and politicians find a new majority that can get them elected with promises of higher income, guaranteed jobs regardless of work performance, and higher government benefits. Once elected, they provide poor quality representation to the overall population, choosing instead to focus on promises to their special interest groups for re-election .
During this 25 year time period the quality of family life came under attack by a rapid rise in dual-income families as people tried to keep up with an increasingly disposable society. Products that previously were made to last for many years were manufactured to be disposable or in need of replacement frequently. A new generation believed they could have everything immediately that their parents worked many years to obtain. Easy credit made it seem simple and those same politicians mentioned earlier passed laws to encourage trade, consumption, and growth in all areas that could be taxed (or get them re-elected). When societal disintegration of the family grew, politicians then used those tax dollars to lock up the people who had reduced parenting in the home and committed crimes against society. Quality family life (see the July 2007 blog on family) can not be cheapened by teaching and preaching that quantity of time with each other is not as important as so called "quality" time with each other. The current foreclosure crisis is but one example of the economic strain on families who have been weakened by too many hours of employment and not enough at home. When the market price drops and the easy credit becomes hard credit, they not only lose their house but also their family. The definition of family has now begun to change. If you believe, as I do, that the foundation of our society is the nuclear family and the qualities instilled by caring parents, our future looks quite bleak without fundamental changes.
Quality is defined by the dictionary as any characteristic which make something commendable or reprehensible; the degree of excellence which is possessed; the attributes or elements of superiority. 1st Corinthians 3:13 says "his work will be shown for what it is, because the day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work." Precious metal is considered more valuable when it is purified, a process that is accomplished with fire, then removal of the impurities. The lesson here is that the process of burning off the poor quality components is what brings out the high quality components. Many Old Testament stories are misunderstood, because God seemed to continually "burn" the Israelites in ways that consumed seemingly important things. The reality is that He was exposing the true quality and pureness by burning away the rest. Deuteronomy 8:2 says "Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these 40 years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands". So, you ask, how do we get out of this mess? A glimpse is seen in 2nd Kings 23:3, which reads "The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord - to follow the Lord and keep His commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant."
Quality life begins in the heart, is taught in the home, preached in the marketplace, and chosen by you, the individual. Society is made up of the people and in the U.S.A. the majority of voters choose the politicians that make the rules that govern society. Our founding fathers realized people are responsible for their government. John Adams in 1798 wrote: "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." Joshua said in the Bible "choose this day whom you will serve". All aspects of life have high quality and low quality options. The choices are yours to make, and your actions make the choices so you can't choose not to participate. The sign in the dentists office meant the seemingly higher price for high quality is always worth it in the long run. Be discerning in all things and constantly question choices made for any reason other than top quality. The burning sensation you feel is the impurities being "burned" away to reveal what really matters. Do your actions as a consumer, as a voter, as a parent, as a spouse, as a follower of Christ, as a citizen, as a worker, as a human being, match up with the highest degree of excellence? If you need a reference book to define the highest degree of excellence I would suggest the Bible. When a boat crosses the water the ripple effect is called a wake. What does the wake of your life look like? If it is not what you want, please change and teach all those placed around you to influence, to do the same. Together we can reverse the previous choices of low quality made by our fellow citizens, making the channels chosen by the masses the high quality choice.
