Enough

Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, 'Draw near to the LORD, for he has heard your complaining.'" And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. The LORD spoke to Moses and said, "I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'"

In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Gather as much of it as each of you needs, an omer to a person according to the number of persons, all providing for those in their own tents.'" The Israelites did so, some gathering more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed. And Moses said to them, "Let no one leave any of it over until morning." But they did not listen to Moses; some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul. And Moses was angry with them. Morning by morning they gathered it, as much as each needed; but when the sun grew hot, it melted. ~ Exodus 16:9-21

I'm convinced that a successful life is largely driven by balance and moderation. Not too much of anything. Not too little, either.  Just Enough.  More is easy. Our natural proclivity is to have just a bit more.” ~ Patrick Rhone, Enough

Several years ago there was a NASA study that has said that unless there is a major shift in the unequal wealth distribution and exploitation of resources soon - as in now - that the global industrial civilization we enjoy in the US and Western world will collapse sometime likely in the next thirty years.

"Gather as much as each of you needs." the LORD told Moses to tell the Israelites.

Well, I'm not sure about you, but I have a lot more than I need.  And I know plenty who don't have enough.

Right now, with a pandemic raging and economies faltering, that is true even more than ever.

As a people over the last few millennia we've done a pretty poor job with this command. And, unsurprisingly, civilizations have fallen in that time.  Babylonians, Assyrians, the Han Empire, the empire of Alexander the Great, the Roman Empire, the Mayans. When most of the resources are consumed by a small, elite part of the population, or a new group with more power takes all of the resources, history tells us it doesn't end well.

In the wilderness, even those Israelites who gathered enough manna didn't trust that it would be enough and so held some back to the next day.  They wasted it.

How much do we waste of the precious resources God has provided us? And why do we take more than we need?

What then do I really need?

God of bounty and generosity, you provide all I need and yet I find ways to want more.  I forget to trust in your providence and trust instead in resources that ultimately come between you and me, as well as between me and those who are truly without.  Open my eyes and heart to those who need me to share your bounty.  Move me to action to help serve our civilization so that we can all truly have what we need.  Amen.


Thoughts for engagement:

A pastor friend of mine, Rev. Becca Ehrlich, is a leader in the movement toward Christian minimalism. Here's a link to her website. Take a look at some of her blog entries. What do you think about it? https://www.christianminimalism.com