IV. Vows of
Voluntary Sacrifice
“We freely offer up our appetites, wealth, and
pride to relieve the suffering of the world, for the sake of our neighbors and
God’s joy.”
- I will discipline my appetite
for possessions through limiting acquisition of things to my true needs;
through treating all my possessions and wealth as a trust from God for
extending God’s blessings to the suffering in the world; through sharing
generously with my neighbors; and through consuming conscientiously and simply so that I do
not deprive others of the means to live.
Without looking very
hard I can find evidence that my stuff can easily own me, control me and rob life
from me. What’s a bit more difficult to see is that when I'm distracted by, anxious
about, pursuing after and consuming all the stuff that has been marketed to me, I am much less able to live a life of compassion and reconciliation with
my neighbor, devotion to God or peace with myself. My focus on my own desires and needs, the anxiety about
whether there will be enough, my drive to protect what I do have from others, or the energy expended in the acquisition
of the next thing (and paying off the last one)—all this takes great time and
energy in our lives; time we can’t use to pursue God and serve our neighbor.
Jesus must have been on to something when he
said we can’t serve two masters, God or mammon!
