 March/April 2000 (XXXVIII 2) |
course I have taught for graduate students about the nonprofit sector in the United States begins by looking at the religious and philosophical roots of the practice of philanthropy, of giving and volunteering. One of the first things the students read is "A Model of Christian Charity." This is a sermon that John Winthrop, leader of the Puritans, gave to his fellow travelers just before they landed in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. In that sermon he articulates a vision of a community where every person, whatever their differences in social and economic status, makes a commitment to mutual care of and support for one another — in order to reflect God's aspirations for the dignity and quality of life of all people.
What characterizes such a community? Among other things, he notes, "people must be willing to abridge themselves of their superfluities, for the supply of one another's necessities." In modern English, this means we need to be willing to give up some luxuries to be able to give of our wealth (and time) to care for those who do not have even the basics of life. That raises the question, "What's a luxury?"
There was a news piece the other day about whether high school students should have cell phones at school. I was amused to hear one student describe having a cell phone as "a necessity," so that "she could call home if something went wrong at school." This is a necessity? There are no pay phones? How did high school students survive, then, five years ago, when virtually none of them had cell phones?
Our perceptions about what is "necessary" are undoubtedly confused by the ways in which all of us are bombarded by (literally) thousands of messages a day trying to convince us we "have to have" the latest gadget or service. If we believe those messages, then we have to have more and more money to buy those things, and work more and more hours to earn that money; and then building and participating in real communities, caring communities of any sort, becomes harder and harder. In addition, we will probably be less generous in supporting various charitable causes and activities which help create communities and provide for people's real necessities, because we will feel like we have less money to give.
(Studies show that charitable giving for most people comes from what they perceive as "excess income," of which there is obviously less if we thing we need more and more things. In addition, studies show that while the "discretionary income" of households has gone up by more than 50% (in inflation adjusted dollars) over the last 40 years, charitable giving has not increased beyond 2% of total personal income in all that time.)
This is a place where the Quaker testimony on simplicity surely is as relevant to modern life as any element of our faith and practice. Perhaps there is a set of queries here for our consideration.
- What do we think of as luxuries and necessities? How do we see the difference?
- How do we allocate our resources — whether of time or money — to build caring communities and provide for (real) necessities for those in our communities who cannot afford them?
- How is a commitment to stewardship and right sharing of resources reflected in our patterns and practices of consumption and giving?
I believe that John Winthrop is still right 370 years later. If we want to create communities where the light and love of God will be visible in the world, then we must be willing to abridge ourselves of our superfluities for the supply of others' necessities. John Woolman put it more positively when he said "the goal of our lives should be to turn all the treasures we possess into the channel of Universal Love." Now there is a vision of stewardship for us all to ponder.
Thomas H. Jeavons
Swarthmore Meeting (PA)
PYM general secretary
Last modified: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 08:18 AM