James, great question, and probably deserving of a post all its own. One of the best answers I have came from the farmer Daniel Mays' book "The No-Till Organic Vegetable Farm." It may seem an odd source, but toward the end of the book Mays says that in the natural world there are no surpluses, everything is poured back into more life. He tries to follow that principle with his farm as well. Whenever he gets a surplus of money, he works to return it to his community. That could come from planting trees, funding community projects, or a wide variety of other things. I think the principle works well for all of us. We should seek to live as simply as we can and use any surplus money, time, resources, etc. to build up the life of the community. Luke 12:16-21 is helpful here too. The problem in that parable isn't that the farmer has success and grows a bumper crop that fulfills all of his family's needs. The problem is that instead of filling his barn and then giving away the surplus, he decides to build a bigger barn and keep the surplus. For my family, we try not to have much surplus, but when we do, we try to move it along. That's sometimes through traditional giving to local non-profits doing good work, but sometimes its also helping out people we know who might have a specific need. It's usually nothing dramatic, but it does help us keep the gifts of God moving rather than holding onto them all for our own use. And of course, its an ongoing struggle and discernment. My family is by no means perfect in any of this and we are constantly involved in ongoing discernment on how to live more and more into God's gift economy. For some books that have been helpful for me, see Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove's "God's Economy" and Ched Myers "The Biblical Vision of Sabbath Economics." I hope this is helpful!
You words are the result of rightheartedness, study, humility - among other things - and COURAGE 🙏👍.
Wonderful article. So relevant to today. I was blessed to read it.
Thank you, Nancy! I'm glad my reflection blessed you.
I like, and agree, with your writing. I’m curious what you are doing about the wealth many of us have.
James, great question, and probably deserving of a post all its own. One of the best answers I have came from the farmer Daniel Mays' book "The No-Till Organic Vegetable Farm." It may seem an odd source, but toward the end of the book Mays says that in the natural world there are no surpluses, everything is poured back into more life. He tries to follow that principle with his farm as well. Whenever he gets a surplus of money, he works to return it to his community. That could come from planting trees, funding community projects, or a wide variety of other things. I think the principle works well for all of us. We should seek to live as simply as we can and use any surplus money, time, resources, etc. to build up the life of the community. Luke 12:16-21 is helpful here too. The problem in that parable isn't that the farmer has success and grows a bumper crop that fulfills all of his family's needs. The problem is that instead of filling his barn and then giving away the surplus, he decides to build a bigger barn and keep the surplus. For my family, we try not to have much surplus, but when we do, we try to move it along. That's sometimes through traditional giving to local non-profits doing good work, but sometimes its also helping out people we know who might have a specific need. It's usually nothing dramatic, but it does help us keep the gifts of God moving rather than holding onto them all for our own use. And of course, its an ongoing struggle and discernment. My family is by no means perfect in any of this and we are constantly involved in ongoing discernment on how to live more and more into God's gift economy. For some books that have been helpful for me, see Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove's "God's Economy" and Ched Myers "The Biblical Vision of Sabbath Economics." I hope this is helpful!