Today’s Reflection

A “THEOLOGY OF ENOUGH”—what does it look like? How much is enough of anything? Where can we draw boundary lines in our lives? For instance, do I have to have fresh apples, oranges, and bananas twelve months of the year? How many months are enough? Do have to buy new things each month? How frequently do I need new clothing? How much “running around in my car” is good stewardship for one person driving in today’s world?

One of the most important tools in finding out “how much is enough” in the different areas of our lives is fasting—simple abstinence from food, television, negative behaviors, telephones, unnecessary doing, spending, and so on. To fast is voluntarily to deny ourselves something we normally do, for the sake of spiritual growth. Fasting, more than any other spiritual discipline, reveals what controls us.

Theology of Enough

by Desiree Adaway on May 31, 2010

We have confused, as a society, wants and needs, and a lot of people have raised up their wants way above their needs and way above their abilities to support all those wants”  Millard Fuller

The title of my post is an ode to a chapter in one of his books.  Fuller refered to it as the Theology of Enough. Its the  idea that there is a point where consumers possess everything they need  and buying more makes their lives worse rather than better. Like simple living,“enough-ism” emphasizes less spending and more restraint in the buying behaviour. Enoughism is an antonym to consumerism      

 What do you really need in your home or in your life? Its really a question that I want you all to answer.  What do you really NEED?I have been ruminating on this for the past few weeks, and because I have been struggling to answer this question for myself, I have not been able to actually write this blog post.  For the past two weeks I have been reading and meditating on the “Theology of Enough”.  We humans (especially those of of us from more developed countries have a hard time differentiating a need from a want.  We believe the commercials, the ads, the hype and honestly the bullshit.      

We consume  and consume and consume more stuff everyday. I want to say that the real issue is not consumption itself but its patterns and effects. Yet, I think that would be a lie. The real issue is consumption and what does it take for us as humans to feel full…satiated…satisfied….whole.