Poverty, or Simplicity?

It has often been said that people are poor because they are lazy, but it might also be said that many people work too hard because they will not be satisfied with having enough. It must also be admitted that there is the injustice that offers too little compensation for some who work as hard as they are able, or worse, sometimes no work is offered suitable to one's talents.

In some sense, an adequate supply of goods, with enough to share, is abundance. If you have enough for tomorrow, and real prospects for being able to meet your future needs, without going in want or begging, then what reason do you have for being dissatisfied?

Our Lord told us to pray, "Give us this day, our daily bread," and not to worry about what we would have to eat or to wear. He promised that our Father in Heaven would provide and care for us. Is it not a lack of faith to strive to gather wealth, saving it for a "rainy day," or putting it aside for our children?

Granted, having much uncertainty about having enough to eat can be stressful, as can being shabby and uncomfortable in inclement weather. But the Lord asserted that a workman should be allowed his wages, sufficient for his upkeep. Of course, this implies that we should all have some skills, or knowledge to share, with which to earn our necessities, so as not to be a heavy burden, or have to live by charity. It gives us a sense of self-worth to be making a valuable contribution to society, as measured by the fulfillment of our needs.

But there is the crux of our issue, our discontent, in as much as we have eyes to see the accumulated wealth of others. Too often, we look at others and assume that their lifestyle of greater wealth gives them greater happiness than we enjoy. We wonder why they have more material goods and leisure time. Is it because they are more valued that they are more abundantly recompensed for their labor? Or is it because of their lack of faith, or their greed, that they choose to work harder and more than necessary, in order to pile up great stores for an uncertain future? If so, then the appearance that they have more enjoyment is an illusion.

It is good to be greatly valued, as it improves one's opportunity to share and do good for society. But to merely continue to grow and expand, adding ever more to storage, so that your wealth is hoarded up only for its own multiplication, is to lack faith in God's promises for tomorrow. That is why some people with too much money remain unhappy, because they don't have any idea how to use it for the betterment of society. They have no vision of a better tomorrow, where God may be best served for the long view of history.

It is part of our purpose, here on this earth, to help our society to evolve toward a closer resemblance of the Kingdom of God. We can aid in its development toward a future in which our descendants may live happier lives, knowing that they are blessed. We do not achieve this by hoarding wealth for their future enjoyment, but rather by working for social justice, and developing the future prospects and sustainability of our world.

If we believe in a better future in Heaven, then we should work to extend the human reach into the heavens. It is not just a pun, or a play on words. The prospects for the sustainability of our Earth will be greatly improved by expanding into the next frontier. And the heavens hold enough wealth and opportunities to create a climate of economic abundance for our future growth. Perhaps the ancient references to Heaven were indeed pointing us in the right direction, even though they did not know what it meant.

If we think we may best serve by improving social justice, then let us seek to work by political means to create a more caring and fair way of life. We need a world in which every person can find a happy occupation that fits his/her talents and abilities. Not everyone can build a factory that employs a thousand people. But we all have the capacity to care for someone else, or to teach and inspire others in some way.

And no one should feel undervalued because another is given too much. It can not be true that any person's work is worth a thousand times more than that of a housekeeper, or a teacher, or a nurse. Have they not chosen what they wish to do? Job satisfaction is its own reward. Some status, rank, or fame, and a few privileges perhaps, can be added to a more moderate salary. Those can be moral incentives; encouragement to contribute as much as one is able.

If society wishes to acknowledge a greater value for some occupations than others, so as to encourage the greater efforts required to engage in them, let us create a scale of ranks. It can have perhaps 20 to 30 levels, and assign compensation and perquisites as necessary. And we should acknowledge that the lowest are not the most menial, nor the highest the most interesting or intellectual. Each rank can earn one more factor, an additional "daily wage" above the one below it, so that the least will be encouraged to try to advance. But no one should be insulted and  embittered by the unbridgeable gap between their own place and the top "important" occupations.

But we must continue to find ways to pool our resources and efforts toward goals greater than what one person or group can accomplish. Governments and corporations must be allowed, even encouraged to "Dream Big" so that the world can evolve toward a greater future. If there must be an accumulation of wealth in order to initiate these big projects, let us examine how these ideas may benefit us, and authorize their pursuit. For such purposes, benefitting us all, we can gather "social wealth."

But for an individual, there should be no incentive for greed. Rather, let ambition seek to make a greater contribution, and reap the rewards thereof. Let no one, however, suffer the pains and shame of poverty, if they are willing to make a fair effort to work as they are able. We must find them a suitable occupation, or make available some way for them to help when and however they can. And we must grant them such wages as will be sufficient for their needs with enough to share, so that they may feel the dignity of being a valued citizen. Our society should be capable of doing that much for everyone.

And no one, who thinks that they "work hard for the money" they receive, should begrudge our society the opportunity to be charitable to those who would otherwise be poor. To be stingy toward those less able, or less fortunate, is an antisocial attitude coming from greed.