Hmmmm…
The Theology of Enough probably isn’t a topic many of us want to discuss during the winter holiday season. Not because we do not agree with the principle of it, but because it is so hard to live out in our “give me more” society, especially from Black Friday through Christmas when we are encouraged to purchase so much stuff.
But here is one reason that it is important… when we live in debt, we are unable to serve God fully. We are now in the midst of the struggle of how to get out of debt. Where do we trim back? How can I be generous to others when I owe so much? And so the spiritual discipline of simplicity and the theology of enough can work together to change our mindset so that we do not fall into the marketing trap of our society and so that we can remain fully available to be used by God.
So what is the Theology of Enough? Here is a great, true-story illustration of it from Stanley Tam (I discovered this story in the book ‘Primal,’ by Mark Batterson)
Stanley Tam started the the United States Plastic Corporation, and early on Stanley made God the Senior Partner of his company. Stanley knew God was the reason for his blessings in life, and he wanted to honor God with the way he ran his company and used the earnings from his business. So Stanley legally transferred 51 percent of his business to God. Fifty-one percent of the company’s profits would be set aside and used for ministry purposes. Most of us would probably have been patting ourselves on the back at that point. Not Stanley.
After reading the parable about the merchant who found the pearl of great price and sold everything he had to obtain it, Stanley made an even bolder decision… he decided to to divest himself of all his shares. In January of 1955, every share of stock was transferred to his Senior Partner and Stanley became a salaried employee of the company he had started. From the day of that defining decision until his death in 2000, Stanley was able to manage the giving of earnings to ministry purposes… which amounted to more than a hundred million dollars. But let’s be clear – the real truth about this theology of enough wasn’t that Stanley had given God thousands of shares or millions of dollars… What he had really given God was his heart. And that’s what God really wants.
You can read Stanley’s testimony in his own words on the US Plastic website at: http://www.usplastic.com/content/aboutcorporation.aspx
A lot of the people who met Stanley envied the money his company made. But what we should really envy is his faith.
After meeting Stanley, Mark Batterson said: “Such childlike faith in such an aged body is a rare quality. He talked about good old-fashioned obedience as the key to success. He talked about giving things away as a means of sending them ahead to heaven. He talked about how God’s shovel is bigger than ours. But the most challenging
and inspiring discussion revolved around establishing an income ceiling.”
“Most people spend more money as they make more money. Their standard of living goes up in direct proportion to their income. They buy more cars, bigger televisions, and nicer things. Not Stanley. He hasn’t taken a raise in three decades. In his own words, “A man can eat only one meal at a time, wear only one suit of clothes at a time, drive only one car at a time. All this I have. Isn’t that enough?”
And that is our important question here at the highest point of consumerism of the year. How much is enough?
For some, the answer is – “One more dollar.” We want more and more, so we can spend more and more. “We have an insatiable appetite for more.” When will we take the blessings God has given us and say – “I have enough, it is now time for me to give all that I have above my level of enough away to God and His kingdom causes.”?
“Enough will never be enough unless you determine how much is enough.”
Batterson ends with these piercing questions:
“What would happen if every Christ follower had the courage to ask and answer that question with biblical integrity? What would happen if every Christ follower personalized that question and specified a dollar amount? What would happen if every Christ follower gave away everything above and beyond their predetermined income ceiling?”
What a challenging idea.
Determining how to be a good steward of what God has blessed me with.
Honestly, I can’t say that I have embraced the income ceiling idea yet… I guess I don’t feel I have “enough” yet.
But I am praying that God will keep convicting me in this area so that I know how to hold to a theology of enough and a belief in simplicity.
What about you?
How do you fight the materialism mentality in this consumer culture, especially at Christmas?
What do you think about Stanley and his choice of an income ceiling to be able to give more away for kingdom causes?
(Quotes from ‘Primal’ by Batterson)