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| We're seeing lots of anxiety-driven hoarding these days. |
You lazy fool, look at an ant. Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two... All summer it stores up food; at harvest it stockpiles provisions. So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing?...You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, poverty your permanent houseguest! Proverbs 6:6-11 (the Message)
“Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being. Matthew 6:19-21 (the Message)
At first glance, the counsel given in Proverbs and that of Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount seems contradictory. Interestingly, both draw lessons from the natural world, the writer of the Proverbs from hardworking ants and Jesus from equally active "birds of the air," as in "Consider the birds, they sow not nor do they reap, nor gather food in barns..."
Both ants and birds work diligently from dawn until dark. They just don't do it with any sense of worry. And while birds don't stock up on provisions like ants do, ants store what they do for one reason only, for the good of the entire colony. No ant is stocking up on supplies for itself alone.
Contrast that with the behavior of most humans. As we speak, individual households are accumulating large quantities of toilet paper and sanitizers and attempting to stock their freezers and cupboards with enough food for months and even years to come.
Meanwhile, most businesses question the value of having too many warehouses involving too much stuff being kept in storage. Toyota, for example, has pioneered what they call the Toyota Production System (TPS), an approach to manufacturing that aims to eliminate waste and achieve the greatest possible efficiency. Here it is in their own words:
So before we engage in panic buying, overstocking and over-storing, let's ask ourselves:
1. Is our collective hoarding disrupting the supply chain and limiting the availability of items others may need?
2. Do we have a right to freezers and pantry shelves full of food and to having surpluses of other supplies while so many in the world are in desperate want?
3. Do our purchases primarily reflect a concern for our own individual wellbeing or the wellbeing of the communities around the world of which we are an integral part?
4. In light of all stored goods being subject to decay and of all stored wealth subject to evaporating in the event a worldwide economic disaster, would we be better off distributing more of our wealth now while it can accomplish some truly lasting good?
Note Jesus's words to a would be follower:
Now it's time for me to take some serious inventory of my own accumulations.
At first glance, the counsel given in Proverbs and that of Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount seems contradictory. Interestingly, both draw lessons from the natural world, the writer of the Proverbs from hardworking ants and Jesus from equally active "birds of the air," as in "Consider the birds, they sow not nor do they reap, nor gather food in barns..."
Both ants and birds work diligently from dawn until dark. They just don't do it with any sense of worry. And while birds don't stock up on provisions like ants do, ants store what they do for one reason only, for the good of the entire colony. No ant is stocking up on supplies for itself alone.
Contrast that with the behavior of most humans. As we speak, individual households are accumulating large quantities of toilet paper and sanitizers and attempting to stock their freezers and cupboards with enough food for months and even years to come.
Meanwhile, most businesses question the value of having too many warehouses involving too much stuff being kept in storage. Toyota, for example, has pioneered what they call the Toyota Production System (TPS), an approach to manufacturing that aims to eliminate waste and achieve the greatest possible efficiency. Here it is in their own words:
TPS is based on two concepts: jidoka and just-in-time. Jidoka, a Japanese term that can be translated as “automation with a human touch” is a method for quickly identifying and correcting any issues that could lead to faulty production. Just-in-time is about refining and co-ordinating each production process so that it only produces what is required by the next process in the sequence.
By applying these concepts, we are able to produce vehicles quickly and efficiently, every one meeting our high quality standards and our customers’ individual requirements.
As loyal members of God's Kingdom here on earth, we should be applying this kind of lean and efficient way of thinking to everything we do, so that all of God's children can be assured of their fair share--no more and no less--of their basic needs.
1. Is our collective hoarding disrupting the supply chain and limiting the availability of items others may need?
2. Do we have a right to freezers and pantry shelves full of food and to having surpluses of other supplies while so many in the world are in desperate want?
3. Do our purchases primarily reflect a concern for our own individual wellbeing or the wellbeing of the communities around the world of which we are an integral part?
4. In light of all stored goods being subject to decay and of all stored wealth subject to evaporating in the event a worldwide economic disaster, would we be better off distributing more of our wealth now while it can accomplish some truly lasting good?
Note Jesus's words to a would be follower:
“If you wish to be perfect [that is, have the spiritual maturity that accompanies godly character], go and sell what you have and give [the money] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me [becoming My disciple, believing and trusting in Me and walking the same path of life that I walk].” Matthew 19:21 (Amplified Bible)
And then there is this warning from James, believed to be the brother of Jesus:
And then there is this warning from James, believed to be the brother of Jesus:
"Come [quickly] now, you rich [who lack true faith and hoard and misuse your resources], weep and howl over the miseries [the woes, the judgments] that are coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted and is ruined and your [fine] clothes have become moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. You have stored up your treasure in the last days [when it will do you no good]." James 5:1-3 (Amplified Bible)
Now it's time for me to take some serious inventory of my own accumulations.
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