What the Market Cannot Measure
A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble
“There was not a needy person among them.” —Acts 4:34 (NRSVUE)
Yesterday, the US stock market dropped sharply. The Dow fell by more than 1,100 points, marking its worst day in over a year. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also declined after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates the same and Chairman Kevin Warsh discussed inflation and the economy’s strength. The Fed described the economy as expanding at a “solid pace.”
Maybe that’s true. Economies are complex, and I don’t want to claim expertise I don’t have. Still, I noticed how different that description feels from the reality many people I know experience.
“Solid” is not the word they would use. They would mention the rising costs of groceries, insurance, prescription drugs, rent, student loans, and child care. They would talk about working longer hours but still falling behind. Some are delaying retirement. Others are helping adult children who can’t afford homes while also caring for aging parents who can’t pay for long-term care.
The economy might look strong from one perspective, but from another, it feels very fragile.
We often talk about “the economy” as if it were a single living thing. We say the economy is growing or slowing, the market is nervous, or consumers are worried. Talking this way can make the economy seem like something that just happens to us, like the weather. But the economy is something we build. It’s shaped by laws, wages, prices, taxes, investments, debts, and our daily choices about whose work matters. It shows what we value, what we accept, and whose struggles we ignore.
Even the word ‘economy’ comes from a word about households. It first meant how a household was managed, how resources were shared, how people were cared for, and how life was supported.
When we wonder if the economy is healthy, maybe we’re really asking if the household is doing well. Can people get enough to eat? Can they find a place to live? Can they see a doctor? Can they send their children to school? Can they rest? Can they grow old without fear? Can they use their talents and share in the benefits their work creates?
The stock market cannot answer those questions. When the market goes up, it can help retirement accounts and create opportunities. When it goes down, it can put pensions, jobs, and savings at risk. These changes are meaningful. But most financial wealth is still held by a small group. The market can hit record highs while millions struggle to pay rent. It can drop suddenly, and those with the least invested often suffer most through layoffs, higher borrowing costs, and cuts to important services.
The market tracks the price of assets, but it doesn’t measure the value or dignity of people’s lives.
The first Christian communities understood their economic life as part of their spiritual life. In the Book of Acts, we are told that they shared what they had so that “there was not a needy person among them.”
This didn’t mean everyone had the same things. It showed what the community would not accept. They would not call themselves the body of Christ if some members went hungry. In healthy spiritual communities, need is not treated as an individual failure. It is a shared responsibility.
That belief is found throughout Scripture. The prophets spoke out against those who gained wealth while workers were mistreated and poor people were ignored. Jesus often warned about the dangers of riches. He knew that money can separate us from others’ suffering until we no longer see it.
The question Scripture brings to an economy is rarely, “How much wealth did you produce?” It asks, “What happened to the people at the edges?”
That’s a tougher standard. It means looking past averages, since averages can rise even as whole communities are left behind. It means looking past growth, since growth can benefit those who already have the most while wearing out workers and the planet. It asks us to see who suffers when leaders choose to protect the system.
I wonder how things would change if we started thinking of our economy as a household again. In a household, we don’t celebrate a full pantry if one child isn’t allowed to eat. We don’t call the family successful if one person controls all the money. We don’t say the household is healthy if everyone is afraid of the person in charge.
A healthy household includes everyone. It pays attention to each person. It knows that each person’s well-being is connected to everyone else’s.
This idea applies to nations, neighborhoods, congregations, and families. It also applies to all people living together on Earth. No economy can stay healthy if it uses up the soil, water, forests, and air that make all wealth possible.
Maybe yesterday’s market drop won’t last. Markets go up and down, and predictions often change quickly. But the deeper theological question will still be there after the numbers shift: What is our economy for?
If the economy’s only goal is to create more wealth, then eventually everything and everyone will have a price tag. But if its goal is to support our shared life, we should judge its success by the lives it helps make possible.
Today, think about the economy that’s closest to you, your household, your congregation, your workplace, or your community.
Who is taking on more than their share? Who is scared but staying quiet? Whose work have you relied on without really noticing the person doing it?
Pick one way to help make your household stronger. Pay someone fairly. Share what you have. Support a business that treats its workers well. Ask a neighbor who is struggling what would truly help.
The markets will open again tomorrow. Before they do, let’s remember what the markets can’t measure.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
When you hear that the economy is “strong” or “solid,” how does that description compare with what you see around you?
Whose labor makes your life possible but often remains invisible to you?
What would change if you understood your money as something entrusted to you for the care of a larger household?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer For The Household of Your Love
God of abundance, you made a world generous enough to feed us, shelter us, and astonish us with beauty. Forgive us for building tables where some feast and others wait outside. Forgive us when numbers become more real to us than faces, when profit matters more than dignity, when another person’s exhaustion becomes the hidden cost of our comfort. Teach us the economy of your love. Make us attentive to the hands that grow our food,clean our rooms, teach our children, carry our packages, and care for our bodies. Trouble us when the household is unjust. Free us from the fear that there will never be enough. Give us the courage to share, the wisdom to repair, and the tenderness to notice who is missing. May no one be discarded. May no one be forgotten. May there be enough. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Notice the Hidden Labor
Choose one ordinary part of your day: a meal, a delivery, a clean room, a school drop-off, or a visit to a store.
Pause and consider how many people made that moment possible. Think about the workers who grew, built, transported, cleaned, stocked, taught, or cared. Offer gratitude for them by name when you can.
Then take one concrete step. Leave a generous tip. Write a note of appreciation. Learn whether a business you frequent pays its workers fairly. Buy from someone whose practices reflect the kind of economy you want to support.
Let gratitude become more than a feeling. Let it change the way resources move through your hands.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
My team and I launched a new experiment we are calling “The Commons.” It’s an online space centered around communities of practice: groups of people who share a common concern, set of problems, or passion for a topic, and deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis. Join the community here.
August 4 - September 1, 2026, 12:30-1:30pmET - Book Club in The Commons - FREE - We are reading our next book, “I Eat The Stars” by Sarah Wilson. We will meet each Tuesday for 6 weeks. It’s such great fun. I hope you will be a part. All are welcome! RSVP HERE.
August 6, 2026, 7-8pm ET - FREE EVENT - Join me in conversation with Rev. Natalia Terfa about her new book, “It All Counts: Finding God Beyond the Boundaries.” What if the moments you’ve been taught don’t “count” spiritually are actually where God is waiting to be found? Many of us were handed a version of faith that divided life into sacred and secular, holy and ordinary, faithful and doubtful. But what if those boundaries were never real? Whether you’ve left church, stayed in it, or find yourself somewhere in between, this conversation will offer fresh language for a faith that is expansive, embodied, and deeply human. REGISTER HERE.
August 20, 2026, 7-8:45pm ET - I will be joining Jackie Sussman for an online session on practicing eidetics as a part of our “Reclaiming the Power of Imagination” monthly series. Eidetic Imagery is a powerful tool for pastors, denominational leaders, coaches, and spiritual directors working with others, and for individuals seeking deeper integration and healing in their own lives. Jackie is a psychotherapist, author, and leading expert in Eidetic Image Psychology, and has spent over forty years helping leaders and individuals unlock creativity, uncover hidden strengths, and move through limiting patterns. During this session, she will lead a live Eidetic process shaped by mythic imagery, offering a direct experience of the work. REGISTER HERE.
September 8, 2026, 7-9pm ET, ONLINE EVENT - I’ll be hosting a powerful online gathering on The Black Madonna: Sacred Wisdom for a World in Crisis with Matthew Fox, Alessandra Belloni, and Christena Cleveland. We will explore the Black Madonna as a symbol of resilience, liberation, sacred feminine wisdom, and healing in a fractured world through conversation, story, music, and spiritual reflection. If you feel drawn toward a deeper encounter with the Divine Feminine and the ancient traditions that continue to nourish movements for justice and wholeness, I hope you’ll join us. Learn more and REGISTER HERE.
October 6, 2026 - 7-8:30pm ET, ONLINE EVENT - Matthew Fox and I are teaming up again to launch a series called Journeying with the Mystics. The mystics have always emerged in times of uncertainty. They appear when old certainties are crumbling, when institutions no longer provide easy answers, and when people find themselves longing for a deeper experience of the Sacred. Join us for an 18-session exploration of the teachings of St. John of the Cross, Thomas Merton, Hildegard of Bingen, Kabir and Rumi, Meister Eckhart and more. This is more than a lecture series. It is an invitation into a living spiritual journey. REGISTRATION COMING SOON!
October 18-21, 2026 - PREACH! 2026 Conference- I’ll be co-hosting PREACH in Minneapolis with Church Anew, a new gathering for preachers, storytellers, worship leaders, and spiritual communicators navigating what it means to speak with clarity, compassion, and courage in a changing world. If you’ve sensed that the preaching moment has changed and are longing for thoughtful community and renewed imagination for this work, I hope you’ll join us.
Fun Things My Friends Are Up To…
I get to work with such amazing, creative people. This section is my way of celebrating them—no paid promotions, just joy in what they’re creating.
Dr. Timothy Snyder, the author of On Tyranny, has publicly released the first lecture of a ten-lecture course he taught at the University of Toronto this past year. The course is called “Hitler and Stalin Today.” He is offering this as a public resource for students, researchers, and anyone interested in understanding the relationship between history and contemporary democracy. Follow his posts here or watch on YouTube.
July 29, 2026, 12pm ET - ONLINE WRITING GROUP - My dear friend, Meryl Marshall-Daniels, is leading a writing group open to all. This is a simple and spacious writing circle for people who want time to listen inwardly and put words on the page without overthinking, performing, or polishing. Meryl offers a prompt designed to invite reflection, imagination, and attunement to what is already alive within you. The practice honors writing as a way of listening, of letting images, memories, questions, and insights surface in their own time. Learn more here.
My friends over at Spiritual Wanderlust have some of the coolest classes. One I am particularly drawn to is their Celtic Spirituality School where you get to learn from people like John Philip Newell, Ilia Delio, Carl McColman, Sharon Blackie, and more. Read more about their program.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.