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.
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.
"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.
For myself and others, I am mindful of Luke 12:48. My dad, an accountant by trade, said that great wealth meant great responsibility. He grew up in the Great Depression and lived on chickens and tomatoes for weeks as his only food source as his parents would not join the bread lines. I wonder what the very rich, including those here in Canada, would do with Luke 6:38. It is all about sharing our resources.
Right now here we have people skipping bill payments to buy groceries. We are called to share our resources so that all are taken care of; this is what makes us different in that it is just one way we show our love and care for each other. The road ahead is not easy. And we will do it one act at a time, one neighbour at a time, one church and faith community at a time. For times like these. Rev. Scott Brown, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
This bountiful abundant earth we inhabit has more than enough for everyone’s need. The parallel truth is that it cannot possibly have enough for the active engagement of greed. Greed is never satisfied and by definition is always hungry for more. Money is not the problem. The inner forum of consciousness regulates perspective, and perspective guides action. The inner Divine union where we become “like unto Me , my beloved” is the only answer.
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.
For me, it brings up nausea and outrage. Not at Musk or those who approved his pay package, but at larger government and economic systems and corporate structures that encourage wealth disparities like this.
Meanwhile, teachers, social workers, and others who deserve higher pay don’t receive it, and unemployed or low hourly wage workers struggle to pay for food, shelter, and medical care.
I reflected on my life and came up with this today.
When I turned 11, my mother announced, “You are now old enough to babysit.” I was surprised. What was babysitting, anyway? Things were happening too fast. It seemed only the next day, she started calling mothers of young children from our church, announcing my availability. I was both proud and terrified: I had the ability to earn some money of my own, and the awesome responsibility for caring for young children I didn’t even know, and didn’t particularly like. My mom lined up my first babysitting jobs, and, bewildered, I was on a roll.
A year later, she announced she would no longer pay for my clothing. What clothing I needed (except for new back-to-school shoes and a winter coat) was now my responsibility to buy. Ever the dutiful daughter, I followed her direction, making sure I bought things that could be combined and re-combined into new outfits, and sewing the clothing my meager earnings could not afford.
You can say I learned a lot from this: thrift, personal responsibility, wise use of money, acquisition of skills. But I also learned something pervasive in American capitalist society, something which prevents us from seeing the good of the whole people as something valuable:
I learned that I had to pay my own way.
Whatever I earned was mine to keep, and to use as I saw fit, for myself. Nobody could take that away from me. I paid for the clothes I wore. Everything – my hard earned money and those clothes I bought – belonged to me.
That’s all true, but here’s how it morphed:
I pay for my clothes. I don’t pay for your clothes because I don’t wear them. You wear them, you pay for them. I’m on my own. You’re on your own.
It’s only a small step to this:
I don’t use public education, so I should not pay taxes that support it. You’re on your own.
I don’t use the ACA for my health care, so I should not pay taxes that subsidize tax breaks for those who do. You’re on your own.
I use (and pay for) the internet in my city, so I should not pay taxes that help bring the internet to rural areas. You’re on your own.
I don’t use Medicaid, so my taxes should not fund it. You’re on your own.
And another small step to this:
I make so much money, I don’t need anything that I cannot pay for, so I should not pay taxes at all. What’s mine is mine to keep, and to use it as I see fit, for myself. You’re on your own.
Too bad that 11 year old girl had to fend for herself. What would her life have been liked if Mom and Dad, who had more resources than a babysitter, had helped her pay for that one beautiful dress she wanted? And then claimed it was their pleasure to do so? Would Elon be moved to share some of his new salary with others, if he wasn't simply on his own?
This makes me angry and fills me with grief. This level of greed is incomprehensible. Knowing that a group of people determined that this was a good decision is mind-boggling. Knowing that he will not pay taxes on any of it - despite the headlines calling it 'pay' - leaves me speechless. What if we white settler colonizers had learned from the Indigenous peoples whose wise stewardship and deep kinship with these lands and waters enabled their flourishing for thousands of years? What if, like the Navaho and others, we recognized greed as an illness and actively sought to cure it?
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?
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.
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.
"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.
For myself and others, I am mindful of Luke 12:48. My dad, an accountant by trade, said that great wealth meant great responsibility. He grew up in the Great Depression and lived on chickens and tomatoes for weeks as his only food source as his parents would not join the bread lines. I wonder what the very rich, including those here in Canada, would do with Luke 6:38. It is all about sharing our resources.
Right now here we have people skipping bill payments to buy groceries. We are called to share our resources so that all are taken care of; this is what makes us different in that it is just one way we show our love and care for each other. The road ahead is not easy. And we will do it one act at a time, one neighbour at a time, one church and faith community at a time. For times like these. Rev. Scott Brown, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
This bountiful abundant earth we inhabit has more than enough for everyone’s need. The parallel truth is that it cannot possibly have enough for the active engagement of greed. Greed is never satisfied and by definition is always hungry for more. Money is not the problem. The inner forum of consciousness regulates perspective, and perspective guides action. The inner Divine union where we become “like unto Me , my beloved” is the only answer.
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.
For me, it brings up nausea and outrage. Not at Musk or those who approved his pay package, but at larger government and economic systems and corporate structures that encourage wealth disparities like this.
Meanwhile, teachers, social workers, and others who deserve higher pay don’t receive it, and unemployed or low hourly wage workers struggle to pay for food, shelter, and medical care.
What is a trillion $ ?? What does it even mean?
It seems to me it is a meaningless number since normal humans ( like me) can’t easily imagine it.
Let’s just reflect a little longer on the quote you presented today from Buddha. Now that has meaning!
I reflected on my life and came up with this today.
When I turned 11, my mother announced, “You are now old enough to babysit.” I was surprised. What was babysitting, anyway? Things were happening too fast. It seemed only the next day, she started calling mothers of young children from our church, announcing my availability. I was both proud and terrified: I had the ability to earn some money of my own, and the awesome responsibility for caring for young children I didn’t even know, and didn’t particularly like. My mom lined up my first babysitting jobs, and, bewildered, I was on a roll.
A year later, she announced she would no longer pay for my clothing. What clothing I needed (except for new back-to-school shoes and a winter coat) was now my responsibility to buy. Ever the dutiful daughter, I followed her direction, making sure I bought things that could be combined and re-combined into new outfits, and sewing the clothing my meager earnings could not afford.
You can say I learned a lot from this: thrift, personal responsibility, wise use of money, acquisition of skills. But I also learned something pervasive in American capitalist society, something which prevents us from seeing the good of the whole people as something valuable:
I learned that I had to pay my own way.
Whatever I earned was mine to keep, and to use as I saw fit, for myself. Nobody could take that away from me. I paid for the clothes I wore. Everything – my hard earned money and those clothes I bought – belonged to me.
That’s all true, but here’s how it morphed:
I pay for my clothes. I don’t pay for your clothes because I don’t wear them. You wear them, you pay for them. I’m on my own. You’re on your own.
It’s only a small step to this:
I don’t use public education, so I should not pay taxes that support it. You’re on your own.
I don’t use the ACA for my health care, so I should not pay taxes that subsidize tax breaks for those who do. You’re on your own.
I use (and pay for) the internet in my city, so I should not pay taxes that help bring the internet to rural areas. You’re on your own.
I don’t use Medicaid, so my taxes should not fund it. You’re on your own.
And another small step to this:
I make so much money, I don’t need anything that I cannot pay for, so I should not pay taxes at all. What’s mine is mine to keep, and to use it as I see fit, for myself. You’re on your own.
Too bad that 11 year old girl had to fend for herself. What would her life have been liked if Mom and Dad, who had more resources than a babysitter, had helped her pay for that one beautiful dress she wanted? And then claimed it was their pleasure to do so? Would Elon be moved to share some of his new salary with others, if he wasn't simply on his own?
This makes me angry and fills me with grief. This level of greed is incomprehensible. Knowing that a group of people determined that this was a good decision is mind-boggling. Knowing that he will not pay taxes on any of it - despite the headlines calling it 'pay' - leaves me speechless. What if we white settler colonizers had learned from the Indigenous peoples whose wise stewardship and deep kinship with these lands and waters enabled their flourishing for thousands of years? What if, like the Navaho and others, we recognized greed as an illness and actively sought to cure it?
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.