Conversation Point

Learning Abundance

What images come to mind when you consider the word abundance?

Are beautiful homes, shiny cars, lush resorts filled with palm trees and expansive beaches what you imagine? Perhaps sparkling jewels, closets overflowing with designer clothing and endless nights out on the town at first class restaurants are more your style. Would a big screen television, a computer so advanced it could almost run the world and a houseboat on the Mississippi be to your liking?
Maybe a full bank account is all you need in the world.

Financial comfort and material wealth easily accommodate one definition of abundance, the most common one, particularly here in the United States. Our American dream of single family home ownership, two new cars and great annual vacations pits itself against the realities of daily life and fluctuating economic patterns. Simply put : many of us aspire to look successful by creating a lifestyle of material means. We barter our future for lovely things, but don't necessarily feel accomplished, prosperous or content in possessing them. A consumer-based society has little else with which to work. Richness in things doesn't guarantee richness in relationships, spirituality or appreciation for our planet's natural resources.

What are some other ways to contemplate this idea of abundance? How do we shift this paradigm of abundance equals stuff? Where do we look to find ideas and examples that can broaden our perspective, maybe even change our lives? How can we learn abundance?

One resource is the Bible, which speaks of both wealth and abundance in many forms. The general perception is that God considers money and what it can leverage as evil. It's time to let go of that old, false myth and realize that God isn't so much concerned about what we possess as how we use it. The apostle Paul's first letter to his friend, Timothy, tells us, "The love of money is the root of all evils(I Timothy 6:10)." Loving money can become a temptation, a distraction from living one's faith, if it becomes a lifestyle choice. The Great Commandments encompass loving God, each other and ourselves. There is no room for the love of money in a world view that seeks to learn and live abundance. Letting go of the idea that money is the central source of abundance opens our minds to the possibility that there is more out there.

Jesus called many people blessed, abundant, throughout his three years of ministry, and explained what he meant, particularly in the Sermon on the Mount. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter al kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so people persecuted prophets who were before you (Matthew 5:3-12)."

Jesus turned the idea of abundance on its head, pointing to those who appeared to have the least as being the most blessed. Jesus preached a new way of seeking out and discovering abundance in everyday life, places most people would never think of looking. The merciful and the meek, the peacemakers and the persecuted, lived and shared their abundance each day. Giving mercy creates an abundance of mercy in the world. Giving peaceful responses, makes the world a more peaceful place. Mourning that which has been lost to us helps others understand the importance of connectedness in community. Seeking God's righteousness in all that we do makes justice tangible and real for all people. Jesus' teachings draw each of us back to what we already have that we can share.

Recognizing we are already blessed, already abundant just as we are. is the most important thing we can know. Giving that blessing away is the most important thing we can do.

In a world that says scarcity is king, giving is uncomfortable business. If we give too much away we will have less for ourselves and less than our neighbors. So much for keeping up with the Joneses. But shifting gears, feeling that we each have more than enough to give, begins to redirect our sense of empowerment. Sharing a blessing like mercy or kindness takes nothing away from the giver. If fact, Jesus pointed out that anyone who offers blessings to another out of their own abundance will receive the same back automatically. It isn't how much we have that makes us abundant, but how much we give.

Learning abundance actively places us in the circle of wholeness that is creation itself. We each represent a portion of God's graceful riches to be shared with all of humanity. What are the blessings you hold in your life? How can you share with others out of this abundance?

posted by Cory L. Kemp @ 3:08 PM