Models of scarcity ask us to believe that only a certain amount of pie exists, and we “deserve” a certain share of it. Instead of buying into this zero-sum game, we should invest in systems that make more pie, so that everybody has enough.
How can you help make more pie?
“When you have more than you need, build a longer table, not a higher fence.” -Unknown
When have you experienced the welcome of someone else’s longer table?
Harmful theologies of sin also encourage people to dwell in scarcity rather than noticing and sharing the abundance around us.
What is the abundance around you today? How can you share it?
It is easy to see gluttony as a sin if one confines it to the obscene hoarding of wealth. But what else are we taught to hoard, to amass great quantities of without sharing with others? People are harmed by the hoarding of love, for example, sequestering it away as if it were finite.
How have you seen hoarding harm others?
“Oh God, don’t envy me, I have my own pains.” -Barbra Streisand
When have you been able to notice the pains of someone you envied?
