Apr 9 2022 Day 321 2 Corinthians 8:1–10:18

I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance.


If any political leader or even church leader were to suggest that there should be a fair balance between those with abundance and those with need, they’d be branded as a socialist or communist. And yet, it’s clearly there in Scripture. Share your abundance willingly with those in need. At some point, their abundance will be used for your need. There should be a fair balance. Yes!

I look around my new community, and there is no fair balance. Houses sell for $49,000 in the same block as houses for $250,000. Add to that disparity the truth that the skin color of the sellers and buyers is unfortunately predictable.

Where I am now, clearly I have abundance. Most of us who have the luxury of checking Facebook on a weekend morning have abundance. We’re on the abundant side of the digital divide, we have jobs that make a weekend valued, and we have jobs that mean we aren’t working shift work.

I’ve heard some suggest that Jesus’ notion of a socialist society was a pipe dream, that didn’t work back then, and doesn’t work now. But couldn’t we all be working to equal out the disparities a little bit more? This isn’t about helping the disadvantaged from a place of superiority. Rather, it’s about inviting others into our abundance. Partnering with people who have less. Helping them do more and have more, from a place of companionship. And companionship as a word has its roots in sharing bread – com (with) – pan (bread).

This morning, I’m thinking about how I might share my abundance, not because I want to be a socialist, but because it’s only by God’s graces that I have any abundance anyway.