Have you heard about the iPad? Ten days have passed since Apple introduced the iPad, an electronic table that is part iPhone, part electronic book, part who knows what….
On the day the iPad was unveiled, friends of mine expressed their excitement on Facebook and Twitter. The editors of Chalice Press tweeted, “We are ready for iBooks!” A clergy friend of mine wrote: “OMG I want one now!” I think that some people couldn’t have been more excited, not even if it was Jesus himself that was unveiled to the world a week and a half ago.
Indeed, upon its unveiling, the iPad was called (and I quote) “a miracle.” It will sell for about $500, which is a lot less than people were expecting. Apple expects to sell ten million iPads in its first year on the market.
You’d never know that we are in the midst of a global economic recession, would you? Reading headlines like these about the iPad, one could almost be fooled into believing that this is an age of abundance and prosperity. And for some, this is an age of abundance and prosperity. But for others, it is not.
Had it been Jesus that was unveiled instead of the iPad—or had Jesus been unveiled along with the iPad—he might have had something to say about abundance and prosperity.
I don’t think he would have been against abundance and prosperity. After all, it was through his miraculous power that Simon Peter, James, and John were able to make such an abundant catch of fish—a catch so big that the nets were breaking and the boats couldn’t hold it all. Now that’s abundance! Then he called them to follow him, promising them a lifetime of abundant catches.
There was also the time when Jesus fed thousands of people in the wilderness. He started with just a few loaves of bread and two fish, but somehow he was able to feed the thousands; and, after everyone had eaten as much as they wanted, he collected twelve baskets of leftovers. Now that’s abundance.
And then there was the wedding Jesus attended in Cana. At the reception, they ran out of wine. How embarrassing! So Jesus changed water into wine. Jugs full of wine! That’s not just abundant; that’s extravagantly abundant!
Jesus said it himself: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
So does that mean that Jesus would be happy about the iPad’s unveiling, and the excitement and hysteria surrounding it?
I think Jesus would be pleased—very pleased—to see how far human creativity and ingenuity have come. Creativity and ingenuity are God-given gifts that we are called to use for the greater good. But that’s the catch, isn’t it? Throughout the Bible, it is clear that we have a responsibility for the welfare of others, a responsibility to use our gifts and talents for the common good.
Abundance is defined in scripture in relation to the common good, and whether or not Jesus would be happy or unhappy over something like the iPad depends on how much and to what extent it is used for the common good, how much it really does help us to live life abundantly, as Jesus defines abundance, as God defines abundance.
You know that on the day the iPad was unveiled, the U.S. unemployment rate was at ten percent. That’s double what it was two years ago. That’s a lot of people looking for work.
On the day that the iPad was unveiled, rescuers pulled a 17 year-old girl from the rubble of a building in Haiti. It was unbelievable that she was still alive more than two weeks after the quake. She has now joined the countless other survivors of the quake, many of whom are injured, homeless, hungry, thirsty, and grieving the loss of so many dead in the western hemisphere’s poorest nation.
On the same day that the iPod was unveiled, an article at marketplace.org, the website for the public radio program Marketplace, began with the words, “Pity the poor bankers.” Why? Because as they began arriving in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum, they were asked to keep their limos and Hummers at home. Aw, pity the poor bankers!
I don’t think Jesus would have anything against the iPad. But I do think he would question the hype that surrounds it. I think he would make us reexamine our prosperity and our abundance (as we define it), and ask us whether or not it is really making our lives more meaningful, more fulfilling, and more joy-filled. I think he would question how some people could live in such prosperity while others are suffering in deep poverty. I think that he would remind us that our happiness is tied directly to our neighbor’s happiness, and that if your neighbor lacks the resources he or she needs, then you will find that your own happiness is diminished.
The truth is that study after study shows that Americans today are no happier than they were 50 years ago. 50 years ago, we didn’t have iPads. 50 years ago we didn’t have cell phones, home computers, or flat screen TVs. 50 years ago, we didn’t have microwave ovens or automatic dishwashwers.
It is a sign of our prosperity that so many of us today can’t even imagine living without these things, which we just have to have in order to be happy. And yet, the studies show that 50 years ago, people were just as happy, if not happier, than they are today.
It makes a person stop and think. Here we are, surrounded by so much abundance and prosperity (even in the midst of this recession), but we’re not any happier. And the reason is that we’ve learned to define abundance by an accumulation of wealth and material goods.
But there’s a lot more to abundant living than that.
We’ve heard that a lot—so much that we’re almost inclined to believe it. But hearing something over and over, and realizing that what you’re hearing is true, are two different things.
I remember, when my boys were much younger than they are now, a time when I realized the truth of this. At home, we had so many toys for them to play with; so many that we had a hard time finding places to store them all. And they’d play with their toys, and that would be fun for awhile. But then they’d get bored. Or, they’d start arguing over who was playing with a certain toy first. Or they’d get frustrated because a toy wouldn’t do what it was supposed to do.
That was some time ago, but actually, it’s not so different today—for any of us, I think!
Then, one day, we spent a day at the beach with my sister and her family. We didn’t take much: some towels, some food, some sunblock, and a couple of pails and shovels. As the boys ran off to play in the sand and the water with their cousins, I sat down on my towel, enjoying the peacefulness of the day, and I remember thinking: this won’t last long.
But it did. We stayed all day. They never got bored. They never complained about toys that didn’t work right. They never fought or argued.
At times I played with them, and at other times I sat and rested while they played, and they never got upset, and Ginger and I never had to yell at them, except when it was time to go, at the end of the day, when the sun was setting into the ocean.
Days like that are days when life is full of abundance.
I remember, some time later, visiting a friend. Walking into his living room, I saw what seemed to me a beautiful sight: his brand new, very large flat screen high definition TV. TVs like that were just being introduced to the market back then. Mesmerized, I could only stare in awe and wonder, with my mouth slightly open. Everything else sort of faded from my consciousness—the living room, the people I was with. All I was aware of was the glorious sights and sounds coming from that TV. My only thought was: “OMG, I have to have that now!” And I lamented the fact that such a thing was way beyond what I could afford.
Later that day, I thought about getting a second job, or even embarking on a new career, one that would enable me to enjoy life a little more. I started fantasizing about better-paying jobs that would enable me to enjoy life a little more. Lost in my daydream, my thoughts of jobs that would enable me to enjoy life more transformed into thoughts of jobs that I would enjoy more; and thoughts of jobs that I would enjoy transformed into memories of jobs that I have enjoyed; jobs that made me feel, even while I was “on the clock,” that the life I was living was a life of abundance.
I know that I’ve been blessed to do work that is meaningful and fulfilling for nearly my whole life, but I remembered one particular job I had, when I lived for weeks on end in a tent cabin while serving on the staff of various summer camps back when I was in college. I did this four summers in a row. Those jobs came with low pay; they deprived me of TVs, phones, radios, and even fast food; they involved a lot of hard work; and, they were immensely satisfying.
It was then that I realized that not only would I not be getting a new TV, but also that that was OK, because living a life of abundance really has very little to do with a new TV. It has very little to do with how much stuff one owns.
Today, I try to raise my family with this knowledge, this wisdom, but that’s not an easy thing to do. I find myself constantly at odds with the powerful influence of the culture. There are many rewards for those who live simply, but for those who live this way, who do so by choice, and who try to raise their families this way … the world thinks you’re crazy!
A few weeks ago I heard Jim Wallis speak in downtown L.A. He said that parenting these days is a countercultural activity. I knew exactly what he was talking about.
Jim Wallis, by the way, was at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He was there, telling the economists and bankers that, instead of asking, “When will the recession end?” the question we should be asking is, “What will we have learned from the recession, and how will we change as a result?”
He asked these questions last year in Davos, when he was invited to participate in a panel that discussed how our values shape our financial decisions, and whether or not there’s more to an abundant life than making money. That discussion took place in a small conference room, and few people attended.
This year, a similar discussion took place. However, this year’s discussion was held in one of the main assembly halls, with a much larger crowd in attendance. If anything good is coming out of this recession, it may be that more people are rediscovering the importance of values, and are learning that, perhaps, there is more to an abundant life than making money as quickly as one can.
The recession is causing people to ask questions, questions that we should have been asking all along. Questions like the ones raised by Jim Wallis:
Does our multitude of technological gadgets enable us to spend more time doing what’s really important, like sitting down with our families to enjoy an uninterrupted meal?
Does it add or subtract to our quality of life, the fact that things like flat screen TVs, computers, and cell phones have gotten cheaper and cheaper over time, while the cost of health care and higher education have skyrocketed? What does that say about our priorities?
Have we considered the long-term effects of all our stuff? Each year, 130 million cell phones are thrown away, most of them ending up in landfills where they leach cadmium, beryllium, antimony, lead and arsenic into our groundwater systems. One phone doesn’t contain much of these hazardous materials, but 130 million of them contain 65,000 tons of hazardous materials. That’s one of the byproducts of our prosperity.
Does an abundant life come from making as much money as you can, as quickly as you can? Or is there more to it than that? Is an economic recovery enough, or do we also need a moral recovery, one in which we rediscover the truth that an abundance of possessions does not necessarily lead to an abundant life?
The earliest Christians had all things in common. How radical an idea is that? Personal wealth was not a priority for them. They distributed their wealth among them, so that no one was poor or in need. And they were glad, the scripture says, and their hearts were generous and happy, and they spent a great deal of time praising God.
Isn’t that what we want? To experience gladness and joy in our lives? Sure it is. And that’s what Jesus wants for us, too. And Jesus shows us the way: Live simply. Live joyfully. Live abundantly.
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