After looking into the cost and competition of the sneaker culture that lives and breathes in the consumer market, I was not shocked by the following quotes form the founders/administrators of Greedy Genius merchandise. (One pair of these shoes retail for an average of $225.00)
Quotes from the founders of Greedy Genius taken from an interview by Amanda Koger for http://fashion.hiphopdx.com/.
Nick Lostrs: Greedy is the overwhelming desire, and achieving, I guess, is the genius side of it. We came up with a lot of names but that one was the ultimate. It just fit us perfectly.
Mikhayel Tesfaye: I think it's evident when you look at the sneaker culture and where the kids that really do this are headed; like, everybody is in the game of sneakers at the end of the day. Everybody's goal is to stack as many pairs and the idea of being a collector and all that is taking over. So, I think being we're rooted in the sneaker culture as a brand; it kind of speaks for everybody who's consuming these products.
NT: "I guess the root of all evil could be like mass commercialization and over saturation and where we're bombarded with messages on how to dress and how to live -- what gas to get and what foods to eat -- that's kind of like the root of all evil. Basically, read between the lines, don't always read what's pushed in front of your face; that's really what the slogan boils down to: root of all evil; don't be misled."
• So if Greed = desire and
• Achievement of goals = genius.
• Why does gaining more materials and possessions never fulfill us?
• How then are we really being misled?
What is the “root of evil?”
In the midst of wealth or the desire for wealth, our world seems set on an axis of confusion and "misdirection". When Dr. Martin Luther King named: "racism, militarism and materialism as the three giant triplets of evil", (Irresistible Revolution/ S. Claiborne) he bravely exposed these enemies of society and the greatest drains upon the human soul.
God has spoken over the ages to his people through prophets. Simply said, a prophet or "seer" is a person who is able to see things that others cannot. Sometimes a prophet would " see" something as simple as the location of a lost donkey belonging to Saul's Father (1 Samuel 9:5-10) or supernatural events like in Isaiah 6 (the vision of Seraphs concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amos saw) or Ezekiel 1 (of the living creatures and the glory of the Lord).
In Amos 7: 1-9, the prophet Amos communicates with God and experiences " seeing" what others could not in both a natural and supernatural way.
First, God reveals to Amos his intention to send the plight of locust to consume Israel's crops. Amos begs God to forgive and relent in sending the plight – " Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!" Perhaps Amos's words accounting for the smallness of Israel helped in keeping them from loosing their crops and God did relent from sending the locust.
God shows Amos the next judgment as a fire that will drain the oceans and parch the land. Again Amos pleads with God, " Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small." For the second time the Lord relents judgment.
The third vision God reveals to Amos is God standing by a wall built straight, strong and sound. God is there by the wall holding the plumb line in his hand. God asks Amos what he sees and he replies,
"A plumb line." God replies to Amos saying "Look. I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer. The high places of Isaac will be destroyed and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined; with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam. "
It was a brave and bold act for Amos to intercede for Israel as forgiveness was based completely on the character of God! Amos could ask God to spare Israel from plague and fire, but he could not ask God to turn the other way a refuse to see Israel as it was: rebellious, materialistic, violent and disobedient. This is the reason that Amos did not say, "Stop!" The only means of hope for Israel was for God to see them as they were and to react out of his character and provide a means for forgiveness and restoration.
It was Israel's own decisions and life choices that had brought them to this point of spiritual bankruptcy. Verse 17 reflects the way in which God sees his people, " Therefore this is what the Lord says: Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be measured and divided up, and you yourself will die in a pagan country. And Israel will certainly go into exile, away from their native land."… later in chapter 8:4 …"hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land…"
Israel's desire for self and its obsession with greed resulted in the loss of family, homeland and all they had struggled for. Just like Israel, our world is spinning endlessly looking for more of anything to stuff already full bellies and homes while the needy around us starve for basics of life.
With all the rush for more, faster, better, now; how is it that the people in the world that truly have a sincere need for help now are the ones that rarely receive it – and if they do it 's a long time in coming.
Exodus 22:21-23 (New International Version) reads like this:
" 21 "Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt.
22 "Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. 23 If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry."
Do we as the body of Christ turn our ears away from the cry of the aliens, widows and orphans in our world? Do we decide that it is easier to look the other way when the needy are standing right in front of us? Do we really understand what our responsibility is to care for the disenfranchised people of our community?
At first thought, we may think – I'm one person, or we are a small church. There is that word again – SMALL - just as Amos cried to God about the "smallness" of Jacob.
God is aware of the smallness of each and every one of us. He sees the needs we have in our families, jobs, and our health and beyond. God has a "plumb line' point of view. It isn't in our successes or wealth that we are seen as useful by God. The greatest asset we have to give to God and the world around us is our heart, our obedience to God, our willingness to serve and our desire to try again each new day. God is whispering to us…
God wants to show us the way …
Will you be willing to see what others can't and hear when others refuse to listen? It's time for us to give back; we've been getting all of our lives.
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