“What does sufficiency mean for a planet that is nearing exhaustion? Cultivating a sense of enough has become a biological and ecological imperative.” from What About Our Money? A Faith Response by Susan K. Taylor
Ouch. Sometimes the truth hurts.
More often “ouch” is an appropriate comment when you’re faced with an undeniable truth you would rather ignore.
In 1992 a book called How to Want What You Have was published. Timothy Miller, Ph.D., the author, dedicated it to his sons saying, “To my two little boys, Patrick and Alex, in hope that, when the time comes, there will be a habitable world waiting for their children.”
Scientists have been warning us about the effects of climate change on our planet for over 50 years but far too many people have ignored them because it was more profitable for them to do so. Some of those who have ignored reality are elected officials walking the halls of Congress while others continue to make millions from industries that foul the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink.
Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist whose movement has grown from one person to millions in the space of a year, said in TIME magazine’s special climate issue: “We are children saying, ‘Why should we care about our future when no one else is doing that? And why should we bother to learn facts when facts don’t matter in this society?’”
Her words are a huge “OUCH” calling adults to accountability.
How we make our money and how we spend it are at the core of this problem. There is undeniable truth in Taylor’s words that, “Cultivating a sense of enough has become a biological and ecological imperative.” Cultivating that sense of enough and living a lifestyle that reflects it is the responsibility of each and every one of us. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the way we use our financial resources.
The mission of The Faith and Money Network is to help everyone who cares about it to make the connection between their faith and the use of their financial resources. Cultivating that sense of enough is an exciting journey that typically begins with writing your Money Autobiography. We invite you to explore that and the other options like the online course available on our website.
Greta’s words can shame us or inspire us.
Blessings on your efforts to cultivate a sense of enough,
Judy Osgood