cognitive dissonance

Cognitive Dissonance ~ the feeling

of uncomfortable tension which

comes from holding two

conflicting thoughts in the mind

at the same time.

Dissonance is often strong when we believe something about ourselves and then do something against that belief. If I believe I am good but do something bad, then the discomfort I feel as a result is cognitive dissonance.

The other night I watched the documentary entitled "Burma: An Indictment" (see blog below).

Tonight, I sat at Rainbow Mennonite Church and watched someone spend $100 on a carrot cake.

Now, I understand that the stained-glass windows at RMC really may be in need of repair, and that an auction was a good way to raise funds. But my mind is going crazy.

Here we are, sitting in our comfortable homes at our computers, sipping a cup of coffee while dinner is cooking in the kitchen. We never wonder where our next meal will come from. It's just always there.

Here I am, standing in the book store. Ooo that book looks good. I buy it.

Here I am, at the shoe store. Ooo those socks look comfortable. I buy them.

Here you are, sitting at the stained-glass window fundraiser. Ooo that cake looks good. You buy it. For one hundred dollars.

Do you have any idea what $100 would mean to a family in the jungle of Burma fleeing for their lives? And you just spent it on a cake. a CAKE.

I have a problem... If I want something, I buy it. I know not everyone is like that, but the reality is, we have everything we need, and then some. no - and then A LOT.

How can I watch "Burma: An Indictment" and then turn around and spend my money on a book I could have rented from the library?

How can I listen to my client tell me about his wife and children suffering in Burma - no food, no money, no home - and then spend an amount that would feed them for weeks on a pair of socks just because I thought they were comfortable?

Who cares if our stained-glass windows at church are in need of repair? There are people SUFFERING, in ways we cannot even comprehend, across the globe, and here we sit spending ridiculous amounts of money on a cake in order to make our church building more aesthetically pleasing.

There is something not right with this.