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On Generosity On our own, we conclude: there is not enough…

“On Generosity On our own, we conclude: there is not enough to go around we are going to run short of money of love of grades of publications of sex of beer of members of years of life we should seize the day seize our goods seize our neighbours goods because there is not enough to go around and in…” quote by Walter Brueggemann
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““On Generosity On our own, we conclude: there is not enough to go around we are going to run short of money of love of grades of publications of sex of beer of members of years of life we should seize the day seize our goods seize our neighbours goods because there is not enough to go around and in the midst of our perceived deficit you come you come giving bread in the wilderness you come giving children at the 11th hour you come giving homes to exiles you come giving futures to the shut down you come giving easter joy to the dead you come – fleshed in Jesus. and we watch while the blind receive their sight the lame walk the lepers are cleansed the deaf hear the dead are raised the poor dance and sing we watch and we take food we did not grow and life we did not invent and future that is gift and gift and gift and families and neighbours who sustain us when we did not deserve it. It dawns on us – late rather than soon- that you “give food in due season you open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.” By your giving, break our cycles of imagined scarcity override our presumed deficits quiet our anxieties of lack transform our perceptual field to see the abundance………mercy upon mercy blessing upon blessing. Sink your generosity deep into our lives that your muchness may expose our false lack that endlessly receiving we may endlessly give so that the world may be made Easter new, without greedy lack, but only wonder, without coercive need but only love, without destructive greed but only praise without aggression and invasiveness…. all things Easter new….. all around us, toward us and by us all things Easter new. Finish your creation, in wonder, love and praise. Amen.””

Walter Brueggemann

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The passage urges recognizing that scarcity is imagined; generosity reveals abundance, transforms anxiety, and creates a cycle of giving that renews life and community.

In simple terms: Generosity shows there’s enough for everyone, breaking false scarcity.

Key Takeaway

Practice giving to break perceived lack.

Themes

generosity abundance community spiritual renewal gratitude

Mood

hopeful reflective inspirational

Type

theological motivational philosophical

When to use this quote

  • church services
  • family gatherings
  • charitable events
  • personal meditation
  • community outreach

Key Concepts

theology psychology of scarcity social reciprocity

Questions to Reflect On

  • How can we shift from scarcity mindset to abundance mindset?
  • What practices help maintain generosity without burnout?
A Different Perspective

If generosity is not reciprocated, the giver may feel depleted; sustaining it requires systemic support.

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