What does one do with ones wife on a Sunday afternoon? Why not relax and head to the nearest DFO (Direct Factory Outlet)? Yes, we went to the Jindalee DFO as I wanted to see a pair Sunglasses that Oakley claimed to be specially designed for the Asian face. No more glasses slipping off the bridge of your nose. Unfortunately, the Sunglasses shop at the DFO did not carry Oakleys. Well, I guess Google isn't always your friend :-(. More disturbingly, I noticed that there were not many shoppers at DFO and some shops were empty or not opened. True, apart from Mother's Day, people don't usually shop prior to Easter. Yes they have many cheap clothing stores but no matter how cheap they make shirts, one can only buy so many. Even the moths (Matthew 6:19) don't have enough time to chew through all that cotton! The other day I had an argument with my friend at work. To him, religion is an utter waste of time because we have science now. It is a pity because I think he would found that Jesus has a lot to say about storing treasure in heaven vs shirts in ones overfilling wardrobe. I thought science is neutral about this sort of things. Would science tell us human beings to buy less shirts? All science will do is created shirts that we can stored in yet smaller cupboards. Sure we are destroying the environment and making millions of Chinese workers work day and night to make us more shirts (and sunglasses) but does science care?
DFO indeed! No not "Direct Factory Outlet" but "Directed and Foolish Outcomes". Isn't storing treasure in heaven really just pie in the sky stuff? How can Jesus' word have any significance for the Chinese sweetshop worker or the malnourished African orphan or our environment? Before all you non-religious readers turn off I think we ought to read the relevant passage in Matthew's Gospel where Jesus said:
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Jesus is not merely talking about the future (if you believe in an afterlife but that's another story) but he is also talking about the here and now. Jesus is saying whatever we value then that thing that we value will direct our action. If buying more shirts and sunglasses (boy is that me??) then these are the things that direct your action. If you must wear a new shirt every day for the rest of your natural life then I suspect that even Imelda Marcos's wardrobe would not be big enough for you. On the other hand if you value having a right relationship with people, the environment and God more valuable than shirts (and sunglasses) then your action would be directed by that desire. Again science will not care that you value relationship more than things. I suppose with AI (Artificial Intelligence), I am sure one day I could have a very fulfilling relationship with my sunglasses (only one way though).
But why God? Actually the whole point about God is that our action today not only affects the short term, it has long term consequences. However if we are only focusing on things that are here today and dinner for moths tomorrow then we are forever focusing on the short term. We are forever focusing what keeps "me" happy and not about what happens to our children and their children and their children's children. But isn't that precisely what environmental awareness is all about? We want to ensure that the earth is still habitable for our grand kids. But that is not what DFOs are about.
DFOs not only have consequences for the way we consume (mine I miss the yummy KFC). It also has consequences for how our young people view the world. As an electrical engineer and a computer scientist, I am forever despairing at how so many in my profession are always on the lookout for the easy solutions. Recently I had a discussion with a young man who has just started to work in the computer industry. I asked him why he hasn't done any programming. He said that programming was hard and difficult and he is not the only young person who used such adjectives. No wonder our science is on the decline in our high schools and universities. More DFOs indeed!
Lastly, I wondered if DFOs also affect how we deal with the GFC (Global Financial Crisis). Not long after Kevin Rudd and the ALP was sweep into power, Wayne Swan, the treasurer, loved to trumpet how he has put in the stimulus so that our economy can ride out the GFC. But where did stimulus go to? It did boost the retail industry but now what? Sure, people are more careful than ever about their spending but again Mr Swan, we can only buy so many pairs of sunglasses. To our politicians, it is time for them to read their history books about how our great-parents dealt with crash of 1929. If it wasn't for the building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge then there would have been 1400 fewer jobs in NSW during the Great Depression. Similarly the Hoover Dam in the United States also provided employment for workers who have lost their jobs after the 1929 crash. Unlike sunglasses and shirts, the Coat Hanger and the Hoover Dams are still here today and providing vital support to our economy today. Today we have more than just civil infrastructure, we also vital informational infrastructure like the NBN. Surely it is time for both sides of politics to re-assess where does our treasure lie.
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