Last Quote--I Just Finished the Book

Wheeler compares our healthy amount of possessions to the alcoholic who says he could stop drinking anytime he wanted to, but continues to hurt people and himself in the quest for more to drink. She coins a phrase that I love: "the liberty of conscience" vs. "the bondage of addiction." The alcoholic knows he drinks too much (liberty of conscience) but he can't stop despite it (the bondage of addiction). So that, the person caught in the negative cycle has too greatly blurred the lines between liberty and addiction. The same is true for the shopper, not even the shop-a-holic. She concludes, "The only way one can be certain that possessions do not reprsent a moral and spiritual peril is continually to leave them behind!" --As the alcoholic must leave behind his drink again and again in an effort to sober up and be all that God created him to be.

Our possessions bind us to a particular location, to a certain way of life (whether we enjoy it or not) in an effort to make ends meet, and they deafen us to the call of God on our lives and in our churches. How can we be confident of our ability to discern a vocation in the midst of such economic pressure? (All questions asked by Wheeler in one way or another.) The New Testament's view on wealth is that it is more than just a stumbling block to discipleship or an idol of our worship. It is something that must continually be denied so that we can, like the camel, more easily find our way through the eye of that prickly needle and find peace and pustice in the kingdom of God. So here's my question, how do we suck in our guts enough to slide through such a tiny, pinhole opening meant to lead to God?

Give it all away-plain as that.

How do we define ourselves, for whom do we work, and to what extent does our spending threaten the human rights of others? (Again, more Wheeler questions at the close of her book.) Questions that if answered honestly will help us shed our pounds so that the slim needle hole won't feel quite so constricting and will also show the nearness of God.

Dang.