Broke and blessed

‘Trop est avare à qui Dieu ne suffit.'
You're too greedy if God is not enough for you.

Recently I had a conversation with a church member who was celebrating a wave of change that occurred in her congregation.  The church is located in a town that has suffered significant sustained economic depression.  As with many of the churches, membership is down.  The budget is stretched to point of snapping.  They are what some would call "broke".

Yet, the report is that the ministry of this particular church has experienced a revitalization springing from its own poverty.  There is a surge of love, compassion, and generosity of time and presence.  The energy is pulsing -- even more vigorously than when the coffers were full. 

It seems that the majority of the congregation members are poorer than they ever expected to be.  They have little expectation that the economy will ever be the way it was a decade ago.  So they have made a decision.

They focus upon what they have.  And together they have chosen to celebrate regularly the abundance of God's love and mercy. 

It has made a tremendous difference in their ability to be hospitable, to think creatively, and to see resources in their midst that are not connected to a bank account.  They give it their all. They are constantly functioning from abundance, despite the figures on their congregational membership roll or financial report. 

I see wisdom in all of this.  Do you? 




It is indicting because of its truth, as true statements so often are. We've noticed at CRLC that the response to various invitations to assist the poor or the hungry has diminished over the last weeks. I can understand that....I'm nervous about the economy just like every other American. Like anybody else, I'm tempted to listen to those financial advisers who say: When the statements from your retirement account come in this time, just file them...don't even look at them.

How can we maintain our sense of calm and compassionate generosity. Not by focusing upon our diminished expectations of what the "dollar" will be worth a month or a year from now.

The reality is that any resources we do have will be magnified exponentially if they are surrendered to God for God to use for the amelioration of pain and suffering. That includes time...talent...and yes, money!

In times like this, the children of God sustain peace of mind and heart by clinging to God even as their dollars seem to slip away.