Samuel Wells: America needs a “Theology of Enough” rooted in trust in God

“Although we live in the richest society in the history of the world, we still assume that there is not enough. Not enough life, not enough food, not enough entertainment, not enough happiness. This keeps our economy going. The truth is the opposite. There is too much…there is also the temptation to steal, because we fear that there will not be “enough.” We are generous when we trust that we’ll have enough; we are covetous and anxious because we have lost this trust.”

Samuel Wells in “More than Enough” in Christian Century 121 (2004): 19.

“Live in faith, knowing that far more rewarding and longer enduring than monuments, fame, or fortune, are the acts of love, kindness, and consideration The Almighty privileges each of us to perform every day of our lives.”

Robert E.B. Fielder quote posted at LeTourneau University in honor of R.G. LeTourneau (1888-1969).

Although he has made and spent millions, he is remarkably detached from money as such; he is only concerned about what it can accomplish. He [R.G.] often says, “The question is not how much of my money I give to God, but rather how much of God’s money I keep for myself.”

R.G. LeTourneau (1888-1969) in Mover of Men and Mountains (Chicago: Moody Press, 1972) 280.

“Gratitude looks to the Past and love to the Present; fear, avarice, lust, and ambition look ahead…We want a whole race perpetually in pursuit of the rainbow’s end, never honest, nor kind, nor happy now, but always using as mere fuel wherewith to heap the altar of the future every real gift which is offered them in the Present.”

Quote from Screwtape, the senior demon, from his letter letter to junior temptor, Wormwood, in C.S. Lewis’ epistolary masterpiece, The Screwtape Letters (New York: HarperCollins, 1996) 76, 78.

“If only one little unhappy child is made happy with the love of Jesus….will it not be worth…giving all for that?” (cf. James 1:27)

Mother Teresa in Come Be My Light, ed. Brian Kolodiejchuk (New York: Doubleday, 2007) 54.

“Money is like a powerful magnet that draws our hearts to wherever it is located. Jesus knew–and still knows–that our natural inclination is to trust money for our security and not Him, which means we will store up our treasure here, rather than invest it in the kingdom the way God desires. That’s why Jesus has to directly challenge us to place our treasure in the stuff of heaven rather than the stuff of earth.” (cf. Matthew 6:19-21).

Rick Dunham in “It’s Time to Give Up!” Christian Leadership Alliance “Outcomes” Magazine, Fall 2012: 25.

“It is quite true that my heart was affected by the deplorable physical condition in which I saw destitute Orphans before I began to care for them; but a higher motive by far actuated me than merely seeking to benefit their health…It is further true, that I had a desire to benefit the Orphans by seeking to educate them; but I aimed at far more than this…Further, when I began the orphan work, I aimed at the salvation of the children…Yet even this was not the primary object I had in view; but in carrying on this work, simply through the instrumentality of prayer and faith, without applying to any human being for help, my great desire was that it might be seen now, in the nineteenth century, God is still the living God, and that now, as well as thousands of years ago, He listens to the prayers of His children and helps those who trust in Him.”

George Mueller in Ten Years After: A Sequel to the Autobiography of George Mueller comp. G. Fred. Bergin (London: J. Nisbet & Co., 1909) 11, as quoted in Money for Ministry, ed. Wesley K. Willmer (SP Publications, 1989) 224.

“Large segments of modern evangelicalism have succumbed to the heresy that this present life may be lived selfishly and disobediently without serious effects on the eternal state…Never have so many Christians believed that our monies and possessions are ours to do with as we please.”

Randy Alcorn in Money, Possessions, and Eternity (Wheaton: Tyndale, 1989) preface.

“If you love Christ and the work of His Kingdom more than anything else, your giving will show that. If you are truly submitted to the lordship of Christ, if you are willing to obey Him completely in every area of your life, your giving will reveal it.”

Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1991), 140, as quoted by Wesley K. Willmer in Revolution in Generosity (Chicago: Moody Press, 2008) 42.

“When captured by the depth of God’s gifts in the gospel, we discover that He frees us to participate in His work of grace, hope, righteousness, and love. This is the generous life; this is what belonging to God is all about.”

Kelly Kapic in God So Loved, He Gave: Entering the Movement of Divine Generosity (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010) 10.