By Wim van Klinken, Presiding Bishopric

Sharing for the common good is the Spirit of Zion.

(Part 1)

As happens regularly, I was recently asked how our son is doing. This time the conversation went unexpectedly. I replied with my typical tongue-in-cheek reply, “He earns too much…”, but before I could say more, the person stated he was surprised to hear that from a minister. Dumbfounded, I uttered my surprise to his reply. He explained that in his mind our son is blessed by God, thus implicitly my remark was challenging God. Remembering he was a devout Christian with different perceptions, our subsequent conversation about our theological beliefs was short.

This short exchange exemplifies why the Presiding Bishopric has determined that one of its five strategies is related to the commitment to economic justice. We are committed to work with leaders across the church to experiment with new ways to convey and live our principles of generosity and commitment to economic justice that offer hope for a sustainable future for all.

As I briefly explained to my conversation partner, I do not believe that what someone earns is a blessing of God. Because the other side of the coin is not true. It can’t be that those who earn less are less blessed by God. What I do believe, however, is that what we earn should be a blessing to God, and particularly to God’s creation. We are called to share generously from our abundance and not perceive our abundance as a special treatment or blessing by the divine. The latter would lead to exceptionalism and perceptions of superiority.

To better understand the concept of economic justice, the Presiding Bishopric has set time aside every week to study and discern together, both from a theological and practical perspective. One of our guiding principles is that we can’t have peace for all of creation until we have addressed all injustices in our world. There are several world church teams and individuals in the church addressing different aspects of justice, like human rights and environmental justice. The Presiding Bishopric feels called to take the lead in addressing economic justice, and thus, economic injustice.

(continued tomorrow)

Prayer Phrase

“…share abundantly in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

From Scarcity to Abundance

Take a deep breath and release your fear of “not enough.” Name one place of scarcity in your life, then name one way you already see abundance. Offer a simple prayer of gratitude: “God, open my eyes to your abundance.”

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.