Musk is just the icing on the cake. When sports people (I am using them as an example)get 10, 20, 30 million dollars a year and the average (ordinary) person/people can’t afford to feed their family, provide housing and health care, society is in trouble. The funny part is when these rich people turn around and donate to help the under privileged. The funny part is that if these obscene contracts weren’t so obscene, we wouldn’t have such poverty…..
So, the Musks and all create poverty with and because of their riches.
Thank you for this reflection. This level of extreme wealth angers me. I’m less angry at the wealth individuals and more so at our systems that beat the drum of scarcity when there is always enough. Sallie McFague’s Life Abundant was an eye opener for me. Unlimited growth is exemplified by cancer which eventually kills. I wish we could switch to an economy based on “enoughness” and sustainability.
"How much is enough? is a question I ask myself and in my sermons with some frequency. For some people (Musk, Bezos, Trump ,others) there is no such thing as "enough." It makes me sad and angry at the same time. Jesus said "Woe to you who are rich, you have received your consolation."
Asking that question has made me more generous in my giving, and more thankful for what I have.
This is a time of threshold crossings. You continue to light the way with the possibility for the future. It is a time of all of us to be that future, to create that future, to stand for that future.
George Bernanos said, "Thought without action is nothing much. And action without thought is nothing at all." Thank you for your reflections each day which give us a universe to think within.
The future is ours to create. While we are still in "the dark night of the soul," we have seen this week a most recent bright glimmer of bright light. We are the creators, in tandem with all the others who have lived and spoken truths to light the way. With much gratefulness for piloting faith, I thank you, once again.
Reminds me of feudalism. This is not the capitalism of my youth, it has become something entirely different but I am not sure what —even beyond “neoliberalism” —to call it, but it has twisted into a Frankenstein of its former self!
It is stewardship season in most of our churches, and I am thinking about the abundance we may miss. We are not a wealthy group, yet we are far better off than many of our neighbors. We look at our budgets and the church budget and come to some decision about how much we give. But it seems to me that most of that process is rather uninspired and not true to our calling as followers of Jesus. Our church budget is mostly about maintaining building and staff and internal programs. Our building sits empty most of the week. Many of us are retired and have time. Maybe we need to start from scratch in seeing how our resources are put to use for the good of the larger community, for the vision that Jesus taught. Might we be more inspired to give from our hearts if our church was giving from its heart?
Musk is just the icing on the cake. When sports people (I am using them as an example)get 10, 20, 30 million dollars a year and the average (ordinary) person/people can’t afford to feed their family, provide housing and health care, society is in trouble. The funny part is when these rich people turn around and donate to help the under privileged. The funny part is that if these obscene contracts weren’t so obscene, we wouldn’t have such poverty…..
So, the Musks and all create poverty with and because of their riches.
Thank you for this reflection. This level of extreme wealth angers me. I’m less angry at the wealth individuals and more so at our systems that beat the drum of scarcity when there is always enough. Sallie McFague’s Life Abundant was an eye opener for me. Unlimited growth is exemplified by cancer which eventually kills. I wish we could switch to an economy based on “enoughness” and sustainability.
"How much is enough? is a question I ask myself and in my sermons with some frequency. For some people (Musk, Bezos, Trump ,others) there is no such thing as "enough." It makes me sad and angry at the same time. Jesus said "Woe to you who are rich, you have received your consolation."
Asking that question has made me more generous in my giving, and more thankful for what I have.
This is a time of threshold crossings. You continue to light the way with the possibility for the future. It is a time of all of us to be that future, to create that future, to stand for that future.
George Bernanos said, "Thought without action is nothing much. And action without thought is nothing at all." Thank you for your reflections each day which give us a universe to think within.
The future is ours to create. While we are still in "the dark night of the soul," we have seen this week a most recent bright glimmer of bright light. We are the creators, in tandem with all the others who have lived and spoken truths to light the way. With much gratefulness for piloting faith, I thank you, once again.
Your message invoked a powerful moment of reflection for me. Thank you for your words... much appreciated.
To save himself, Mr. Musk needs to give all if it away.
Reminds me of feudalism. This is not the capitalism of my youth, it has become something entirely different but I am not sure what —even beyond “neoliberalism” —to call it, but it has twisted into a Frankenstein of its former self!
It is stewardship season in most of our churches, and I am thinking about the abundance we may miss. We are not a wealthy group, yet we are far better off than many of our neighbors. We look at our budgets and the church budget and come to some decision about how much we give. But it seems to me that most of that process is rather uninspired and not true to our calling as followers of Jesus. Our church budget is mostly about maintaining building and staff and internal programs. Our building sits empty most of the week. Many of us are retired and have time. Maybe we need to start from scratch in seeing how our resources are put to use for the good of the larger community, for the vision that Jesus taught. Might we be more inspired to give from our hearts if our church was giving from its heart?
How much wealth, too much?
Depends on what world we want,
how it feeds the Whole.