Abundance vs. Scarcity

Abundance vs. Scarcity

Which is better? Abundance or scarcity? We know which one we prefer. We would prefer to have enough with some left over. How much left over? Just a little bit more.

I’ve been exploring this theme in a couple different ways in my own study. One way was to read a book on “abundance” and another book on “scarcity” as it applies to one’s view of the future. The “abundance” author admits great challenges that lie ahead, but banks on the advances of technology to deal with those dangers. The “scarcity” author sees that every advance in technology brings with it not only opportunities for good, but also opportunities for evil, and thus sees the dangers exploding in the days ahead. These authors did not share their views from a faith perspective, and Christians, whether we tend to be “abundance” people or “scarcity” people, must remember that God is on the throne and that He has firm control of the outworking of history.

Another track I am studying is the language of abundance in the Bible. The abundance of God abounds, even in the Genesis 1, what with all the “teeming” and “swarming” and then the fulfillment of “be fruitful and multiply.” This planet and it’s people absolutely bloomed and blossomed. But there is also the abundance of the wicked. They are genius in concocting schemes for more and more evil. God, if not now, will in the end bring the abundance of the wicked to nothing, but also will bring even the poverty of the righteous to a state of blessing or abundance.

But my further question is how people behave under the contrasting states of abundance and scarcity. Many, perhaps most of us, have experienced some measure of both in our lives. This can be material abundance, or physical as it relates to health, and certainly spiritual. We find that, when experiencing abundance, it is easy to take things for granted, and to assume that because things are good now, they will be forever. When people face scarcity, they tend to learn to live with what they have, and they may in fact find more satisfaction in simple things, simple fixes, that give them greater pleasure because they had to figure it out for themselves. In his book, “Scarcity Brain,” Michael Easter says, “In the modern world, if we push back against our tendency to add—forcing ourselves to solve a problem with what we have—we’ll likely solve it better, more creatively and efficiently. Creativity and efficiency bloom under scarcity.”

But aside from creativity and efficiency, Easter also alludes to the other problem that we have in our prosperous society. When we facea problem, those accustomed to abundance simply add more. We add and we add and we add until we cannot fit the car in the garage and we are compelled to build more and bigger barns.

The accumulation of more does not lead to greater satisfaction, and is a perversion of the true meaning of abundance. It takes our eyes off God, the Giver of the best gifts, and seduces us to focus on stuff, junk. In a strange way, those with the most stuff may in fact have the least abundance.

Radical vs. Ordinary

Radical vs. Ordinary

A Baptist pastor went on a mission trip about fifteen years ago to Africa. What he experienced there led him to the conclusion that American Christianity as represented in his own church had drifted toward self-service and self-satisfaction. It led him to write the best-selling book, “Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream.” It is a Biblical book, emphasizing such things as “take up your cross and follow me,” and the themes of service and sacrifice.

Four years later, a seminary professor, Presbyterian read this book and noticed the “radical” stream of preaching and writing, and wrote his own book, called “Ordinary: Sustainable Faith in a Radical, Restless World.” His emphasis is also Biblical, looking more at the disciplines of the Christian life that build faithfulness and endurance.

These two men are not enemies. I don’t know if they are friends, but they have certainly met and heard one another preach. This is not a “winner” and “loser” game. This is two servants of Christ seeking to serve the Body of Christ with truths that compete, though not contradictory.

Baptists may, in fact, be more geared to the “radical” approach with an emphasis on repentance and conversion and revival. These are all Biblical ideas. Presbyterians may find themselves more in sync with a view of the long term. Covenant theologians have typically focused more on building institutions, while Baptists and their dispensationalism think more of the impending coming of Christ and the end of the present world order. Again, both are found in Scripture.

The Baptist pastor preached and wrote to a congregation that he feared was falling asleep under the spell of a prosperous comfort-culture. The Presbyterian professor was writing out of concern for a generation of Christians whose fever pitch for doing radical and unusual things would likely lead to burnout and eventual drifting away from the faith. Both concerns are legitimate.

Certainly God calls individuals to particular callings. Joseph in Genesis lived a radical life, not at his own choosing, so that he might save his family, the fledgling people of God. Moses’ life in Exodus was disrupted radically from the beginning and continued until he died at one hundred twenty. David lived a radical life in the Old Testament, and Paul and all the apostles in the New.

And yet, Paul, writing to the churches that he planted stretching from Asia Minor to the Greek peninsula and on to Italy, all at tremendous danger to himself - he did not write to these new believers to live “radical” lives in the sense of going to far off places and doing dangerous things. He did not tell them to give up their jobs and move away from their neighbors. He told them to live ordinary Christian lives in the midst of those neighbors. Yes, there would be a change in their lives, what with the worship of the one true God instead of a panoply of false gods, and the fellowship of the believers who were committed to purity and piety. They would suffer for those differences, but they were to serve in the midst of it, resisting the pull of the worldly culture by personal devotion and living according to the teaching that they received.

Today also, some are called to more unusual callings which could be regarded as radical, but many and most are called to live as Christians, as those who have been captivated by Christ, and still living in the same family relationships, the same neighborhood, working at the same job, and answering the question, “How is it that your life has changed?”

He Will Hold Me Fast

He Will Hold Me Fast

Our oldest grandchild, Molly, turned eight on May eighth. I was asking around the table about what others remembered from that age. I remember not much, nor did Jessica. Jane has a great memory, and Courtney as well. But Taylor reminded us that age eight was quite the year.

Jane owned Your Nesting Place at the time, and we would make annual trips down to High Point, NC for the furniture show. We would find fun things to do along the way, like hiking at Pilot Mountain and stopping by the little town of Blowing Rock.
Taylor, age eight, was “off” that trip. He never got sick, but he just wasn’t himself. While Jane was busy and I had the kids at Pilot Mountain, I had to push him along and carry him part of the time, and I remember being pretty hard on him. And, he was thirsty all the time.

We were visiting in Blowing Rock when we stopped buying him Coke and got him a Pedialyte. He drank the whole thing and then lost it all. I think it was the first time that Taylor every threw up in his life. We called a nurse back home and she sent us to the hospital.

The Blowing Rock hospital was a nursing home with an emergency room and a few patient rooms. I only remember seeing one doctor, but when he read Taylor’s blood sugar, he pushed us aside and went to work. Only Taylor’s youth allowed him to survive the 1300 number. He was Type 1 diabetic, and we didn’t have a clue. They stabilized him over the next four days, and that nurse and her husband from MI drove down to accompany us back home, since they knew we didn’t know what we were doing.

When we got home, I felt like nothing would be the same again. I was sure we would never have another birthday cake in the house. I was wrong about that, and the Children’s Hospital doctor acquainted us with the “permissive” approach to Type 1 management, since there had been so many failures with the “strict” regimen. Taylor switched to Diet Coke, and there were lots of needles and pokes, but we managed.

I am so thankful for Jeff and June Jones driving from MI to NC all night to help us get home again (June is an RN). I am thankful for Andy Rogers filling the pulpit on short notice on a Palm Sunday since we were not allowed to leave Blowing Rock. I am thankful for Evie Laxton crying with me on the phone, and for the whole congregation’s concern. I am thankful for my dad explaining to me that diabetes is an “old” disease, and that I could have full confidence in the doctors knowing how to handle it. I am thankfulfor Jane, who is really the brains the of outfit. And I am thankful to the Lord for “holding us fast” through this experience in which we were so foolish and ignorant and naive. God has great patience and compassion for those who are in the midst of a storm. In the storm, there is no game plan and you don’t know what tomorrow holds, but He holds us fast “through life’s fearful path.”

I am also sorry for many things concerning which I should have been more aware and perceptive. I wish I would have been more patient and full of faith. I could have taken better stock of the information at hand and applied greater discipline in shaping how we managed the situation. I’m sorry for others in our extended families that have endured the same disease with their children. But through all this, the Lord has held us fast.

I’m glad that Taylor’s no longer eight, and I pray for Molly and all those other 8-year-old’s, that they make it through this year of their lives in ways where they grow and learn and have fun. But whatever happens, I am sure that the Lord will hold them and their families fast.

Don't Be Nice; Be Kind

Don't Be Nice; Be Kind

I’ve done it myself many times. I’ve been nice when I should have been kind. I am making a distinction that not everyone makes, and everyone who uses the word “nice” is not committing a sin. But I would like to suggest an important distinction.

Let’s imagine that you have a group that meets regularly, and there is one person who is driven to make it all about himself. He talks at length about all the ways that the world has cheated him, and so people listen, uncomfortably, and finally, the group chooses to stop meeting altogether. Why? Because they are too “nice” to tell this person the truth about himself, and out of niceness rather than kindness, evade the issue and then the person. Niceness is evasive. Kindness is truthful.

There is an old saying, “the truth hurts.” I am saying that kindness can hurt as well. But removing a skin lesion hurts also. The doctor still does it. He doesn’t send you away to a different doctor. He doesn’t say, “Oh, it’s nothing, don’t worry about it.” Niceness puts a bandaid on it. Kindness seeks to get to the root.

Think of a married couple that has a “nice” relationship. They ignore and put up with and evade. And one more thing, they individually seethe. This will end in some kind of divorce, whether legal, or practical, living separate lives because they refuse to be truthful with one another. Kindness tells the truth.

I do not pretend that kindness is always successful. What is? It is just the right thing to do if you are in a relationship that assumes that love is required, like in marriage, or in the church, or in any other relationship where you are to be pulling for the other person in a meaningful way. If you are in a relationship where you feel no obligation to love, you are in no position to be kind. But in all these cases, niceness is pretending without any intention to do good.

You can be kind without telling the truth in that very moment, because truth requires a proper method and a proper time. But niceness is not a cover for kindness. The kind person may say, “I think I understand, and we need to discuss this further and in more depth,” and then you go and pray about how to do it properly so that you do not do more damage than good. Scalpels can be lifesaving, but also lethal.

Perhaps I need to turn it this way: was Jesus nice, or kind? Was He both? According to my definition, were there times when He just passed over a person’s problem and gave some good but neutered platitude that would produce no repentance and no life change? Think of Jesus with the woman at the well, recorded in John 4. If you don’t know the story, for Pete’s sake read it (just being kind). Jesus approaches her; she is defensive and keeps changing the subject. But Jesus presses and reveals her deeper need and alienation. And, her life is changed. Or think of the “rich, young ruler” who comes to Jesus (recorded in Luke 18). We would likely gladly include him in our gatherings and maybe make him a deacon. But Jesus wanted to expose what was lacking for this man so that he might actually “inherit eternal life.” So Jesus put His finger on the one command the ruler did not boast about - covetousness. He loved money more than life, and Jesus exposed that ugly truth, out of kindness. The man walked away. That was his prerogative. But Jesus was kind, and He told the truth. If that man ends up in hell, it’s on him. He rejected the truth from Jesus. But when we are nice and not kind, we may bear some level of fault in hiding the truth from those who need to hear.

Maybe we should put our niceness in the cedar chest where useless things go, and put kindness into action.