There have been a couple of interesting letters in the Globe lately about personal wealth.
One letter extols the virtues of capitalism as being the economic system most suited to righteous folk, who, by their industriousness glorify God and demonstrate His favor and blessings toward them.
The other letter criticizes the Obamas for their appearance on trips of state at Broadway shows and elegant Parisian venues while American citizens languish in queues at the food bank, unemployment office, etc.
I would like to add to the dialogue by suggesting that there is nothing wrong with working hard and acquiring personal wealth, but that it is important to share what one has with those less fortunate.
All rich people aren’t greedy, and all poor people aren’t helpless. We should all be trying, even in difficult economic times, to find a balance in our lives between abject materialism and the learned helplessness that can result from poverty.
There are other types of wealth and prosperity than simply monetary. There is wealth in the love of family and friends, prosperity in service toward humanity. We can give away the largesse of our time and energy to a worthy cause. We can give away our used clothing, our surplus canned goods, sometimes without even asking for a tax receipt!
We can share the gift of education, working toward literacy for all, volunteering to lead a sing-along at a nursing home, knit sweaters and booties for a NICU; I could go on all day. Heck, we can barter services: a lawn mowing for a basket of home-grown tomatoes. I guess what I am trying to say is, please let’s not be self-righteous about what we have. Let’s consider ourselves to be darn lucky, and to share what we have with others.
The excesses of the so-called “prosperity gospel” are bad, but they need not make us cynical about either the wealthy or the poor among us. Don’t let the abuses of a few blind you to the truth that we are all in this together and that we can all only benefit from sharing.
Julia Stone
Joplin
