What Is Enough? by William O'Brien

What Is Enough?
God's Instructions for Healing Ourselves
and Healing the Earth
by William O'Brien

The average North American is exposed to literally thousands of advertisements each day. We are bombarded with messages telling us what to wear, what to drink, what to drive. The persistent subtext is that unless we consume the proffered products we are somehow unfulfilled and inadequate.

Undoubtedly, this colossal barrage of huckstering can be corrosive to our psyches, equating our value and worth with our consumption. It also is the tip of the iceberg of a complex global economic system. Dig beneath the surface and you find a Western culture awash in materialism and marked by a seemingly endless stream of shopping malls tied to an international labyrinth of production, extraction of raw materials, labor, trade and profiteering. Dig deeper yet and you find sweatshops, ecological destruction, whole countries crushed by debt, almost unfathomable inequities of wealth and poverty. We are implored to shop for mostly useless and excessive goods, while at the other end of the interconnected web of commerce, thousands of desperately poor children die each day from preventable diseases.

Many Christians wonder whether the spiritual resources of the church can offer any response to this morass of global economic woes. The great hidden secret of the church is that, in fact, our biblical tradition has a rich and powerful vein of economic teachings that are profoundly relevant to our modern world.

Find out what the Bible tells us is enough and how Jesus modeled the spirituality of enough—read the full text of this article in the July/August 2007 issue of Horizons.

Call 800/524-2612 or subscribe to Horizons or order the July/August 2007 issue (HZN-07-230; $4 plus shipping).

William O’Brien works for Project H.O.M.E., an organization that develops solutions to homelessness and poverty in Philadelphia. He also coordinates The Alternative Seminary, a grassroots program of biblical and theological study.

Other Articles Online This Issue


Find out what the Bible tells us is enough and how Jesus modeled the spirituality of enough—read the full text of this article in the July/August 2007 issue of Horizons. Call 800/524-2612 or subscribe to Horizons or order the July/August 2007 issue (HZN-07-230; $4 plus shipping).	What Is Enough? God's Instructions for Healing Ourselves and Healing the Earth by William O'Brien The average North American is exposed to literally thousands of advertisements each day. We are bombarded with messages telling us what to wear, what to drink, what to drive. The persistent subtext is that unless we consume the proffered products we are somehow unfulfilled and inadequate. Undoubtedly, this colossal barrage of huckstering can be corrosive to our psyches, equating our value and worth with our consumption. It also is the tip of the iceberg of a complex global economic system. Dig beneath the surface and you find a Western culture awash in materialism and marked by a seemingly endless stream of shopping malls tied to an international labyrinth of production, extraction of raw materials, labor, trade and profiteering. Dig deeper yet and you find sweatshops, ecological destruction, whole countries crushed by debt, almost unfathomable inequities of wealth and poverty. We are implored to shop for mostly useless and excessive goods, while at the other end of the interconnected web of commerce, thousands of desperately poor children die each day from preventable diseases. Many Christians wonder whether the spiritual resources of the church can offer any response to this morass of global economic woes. The great hidden secret of the church is that, in fact, our biblical tradition has a rich and powerful vein of economic teachings that are profoundly relevant to our modern world. Find out what the Bible tells us is enough and how Jesus modeled the spirituality of enough—read the full text of this article in the July/August 2007 issue of Horizons. Call 800/524-2612 or subscribe to Horizons or order the July/August 2007 issue (HZN-07-230; $4 plus shipping). William O’Brien works for Project H.O.M.E., an organization that develops solutions to homelessness and poverty in Philadelphia. He also coordinates The Alternative Seminary, a grassroots program of biblical and theological study. Other Articles Online This Issue A Drop in the Bucket Going Green An ECHO Heard Around the World Caring for God's Creation What Is Enough? Above and Beyond Bible Study Resource 2007 Thank Offering Grant Recipients and Dedication Service Dispatch from Forbearance Presbyterian Church Nurturing Our Faith Building Community Mosaic Health Connections Thanks for Coming	Current Issue JULY/AUGUST 2007 About This Issue Contents FREE Resource How to Use In Our Next Issue Items underlined can be seen in this Web site, all others appear in the July/August 2007 (HZN-07-230) issue of Horizons magazine. to Horizons, call 800/524-2612 or this issue ($4 plus shipping/handling)

Home \| Current Issue \| Archives \| Bible Study \| Web Exclusives \| PW