"The standard of economic and social justice is woven into the warp and welt of the Bible," writes Ched Meyers, "Pull this strand and the whole fabric unravels."¹ Meyers coined the term "Sabbath Economics" in reference to the Biblical economy of grace and an observance of healthy Sabbath limits that keep individuals from taking too much.

God's abundant creation is enough to meet everyone's needs, and it is human sin that is responsible for disparities in wealth and power. The "good news" for the poor is that believers are called to address this reality through redistribution and collective ownership. We are to trust in God instead of trying to pursue elusive security or satisfaction elsewhere. When we do so, we are set free from the addictions and systems that otherwise enslave us.

A world in which these ideals are put into practice sounds very much like the kingdom of God, as Jesus described it.² The alternative is characterized by fear-motivated hoarding and great disparities in wealth. Let us look now at how Sabbath Economics helps us to love God, neighbor, and self.

Loving God—Covenant and Idolatry

The covenant God sets up with the Israelites is relatively basic: "I will be your God and you will be my people" (Lv. 26:12). It is an agreement to be in right relationship, where the Israelites are to love and trust in God, and God will provide for them. The Hebrew Scriptures are filled with accounts of the Israelites turning away from God, in deference to other gods, statues, Asherah poles, and even a bronze snake made by Moses.³ It was easy for them to forget the primacy of God as their priority and sole source of life. Idolatry means putting someone or something in the place of God. "One of the most persistent themes of the Hebrew Bible is the critique of idolatry," writes Old Testament scholar John Collins. "This applies not only to carved or molten statues, but to the human tendency to absolutize things that are merely part of the created order."⁴

Today, while most people may profess belief in the one God of Abraham, we still put excessive faith in idols. For example, we put increasing faith in technology to keep us fed, provide our energy, help us stay alive longer, make us more attractive, entertain us, and protect us from harm. We may idolize money, sex, work, science, or power.

Idolatry can also be understood as addiction. The first three of the Twelve Steps involve recognizing one has become powerless to an object of addiction and turning one's life back to God's control. Twelve Step groups are normally understood as addressing vices that are not generally considered socially acceptable, such as addiction to alcohol, drugs, gambling, and overeating.

But we can be idolatrous and addicted in socially acceptable ways as well. Some lesser-known Twelve Step groups—such as those for co-dependency, cluttering, and spending—can attest to that.⁵ A Christian "Cultural Addiction Anonymous" group meets in Washington D.C. to address their addiction, which they see as:

dependence upon and complicity to unjust structures, systems, and practices antithetical to Jesus' teachings. As recovering addicts we now see and admit that we have been programmed since childhood to live life in a "co-dependent" relationship with the addictive behavior of our society.⁶

They identify and wrestle with the seductive and addictive nature of normative societal values and practices involving individualism, privacy, control, fear, work, race and class issues, money values, debt, and militarism. These issues largely revolve around acquisition and maintenance of power and a desire to be first, despite Jesus' admonitions that "the last will be first and the first will be last" (Mt. 20:1-16). They also generally promote instant gratification above other more important values. When we become hooked into these values we become dependent on the status quo and have less motivation to fight for changes, even when justice may demand it.

Money is probably the most conspicuous idol today, and it is well represented in scripture. We judge people's moral worth by the amount of money they have, regardless of how they acquired it. The affluent lifestyle lived by many in America is maintained by the continued deprivation of the poor. The belief system and level of faith associated with our market economy often usurps moral values, essentially taking on religious proportions. The Gospel, however, portrays stored up wealth as an impediment (e.g. Mt. 6:19). The author of 1 Tim. has even stronger words regarding the desire for money:

Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains. (1 Tim. 6:9-10)

William Stringfellow frames the problem squarely as one of idolatry:

The issue for the Christian (and ultimately, for everyone) is whether a person trusts money more than God and comes to rely on money rather than grace for the assurance of moral significance, both as an individual and in relationship with the whole of humanity.⁷

Recent surveys indicate a growing trend toward setting money as an even higher priority. A UCLA survey of their 2006 freshmen class found that almost three-quarters of respondents considered it essential or very important to be "very well off financially," compared to 62.5 percent in 1980 and 42 percent in 1966.⁸ A recent Pew Research Center poll found 81 percent of 18- to 25-year-olds considered becoming rich to be their first or second most-important life goals.⁹

Whether it is money, a common addiction like alcoholism, or something more unique, idolatry and addiction keep us from loving God, as well as neighbor and self. Sabbath economics teaches that we can't rely on anything other than God, but that by putting our full love and trust in God we will be secure. God largely provides that security through an economy of interdependence, so our participation in that economy we provide security for our neighbors.

Loving Neighbor—Security and Interdependence

Both the Old and New Testaments address our tendency to put our security in things other than God. Today we fixate on insurance, retirement savings, available credit, supplies for natural disasters or terrorist attacks, the legal system, vaccines, guns to protect our homes, and missiles and armies to protect our country. While reasonable preparedness is not bad, an increasing preoccupation with fear, scarcity, and security—particularly in a post-9/11 world—shifts focus away from God and meeting the immediate needs so many of the marginalized have today.

These axioms are developed throughout the Bible. Through the manna feedings in the desert, God instructs Israel on how to work with a "divine economy of grace": gather just what you need, don't store any up, and exercise Sabbath discipline by not gathering on the seventh day (trusting that God will provide nonetheless). Exodus calls for fields to lie fallow every Sabbath (seventh) year, so that the poor can eat, and Deuteronomy adds in debt-release that allowed hope for those caught in the cycle of poverty. The Levitical Jubilee year, taken every "Sabbath's Sabbath" (49^th/50^th year), included debt release, returning lost land to its original owners, and freedom for slaves.

These Sabbath/Jubilee values are central to Jesus' teaching. In Luke's gospel, Jesus makes his public debut by reading Isaiah's description of a Sabbath year (Lk. 4:16-21). Six times in the four gospels Jesus oversees a feeding in the wilderness reminiscent of the Exodus story, where his followers discover there is enough for everyone.¹⁰ He tells parables of wealth that are confusing to our modern ears, but that his audience of peasants would have heard as inverting the power structures and economic systems. He brings "good news" to the poor, calling for economic justice. The Kingdom of God sounds like a time and place that runs by Sabbath Economics.

In Acts of the Apostles, the first Christians modeled redistribution of wealth to those in need (Acts 2:42-47). Paul likewise held up Sabbath Economics values, expecting the early Christian communities to live out alternative models. He called for giving resources to the poor and treating persons as equals despite social and class barriers. He also rejected the patronage model of the time by choosing to support himself with a trade.¹¹

The Sabbath Economics thread woven through scripture addresses the human tendency to fear scarcity and to put our trust in resources that we build up for ourselves. God instead calls us to interdependence within community—the Body of Christ—and to trust that God has provided enough to meet everyone's needs if they are distributed fairly. We model and experience this in community when we gather at a single table to receive Eucharist.¹²

Catholic social teaching uses the principle of the common good to teach Sabbath economics values. The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church defines the term as follows:

The principle of the common good, to which every aspect of social life must be related if it is to attain its fullest meaning, stems from the dignity, unity and equality of all people. According to its primary and broadly accepted sense, the common good "indicates the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily.¹³

This principle can apply to the choices of individuals, but it is also commonly applied to societal responsibilities and the political realm.

The implications of this theme are fundamental ones. It questions the very goals many are pursuing in their lives, relating to issues such as career, wealth, and family. It rejects the NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) mentality, consumerism, and competitiveness common today. It also can be applied to almost every major political issue, from social security to war.¹⁴

Now that we have seen how Sabbath Economics speaks to how we can love God and neighbor, we will look at how it is also "Good News" for us as individuals.

Loving Self—Liberation

God's gracious love is a liberating love, intent on setting us free from whatever is holding us bound. This may be freedom from various forms of addiction, such as the ones discussed with respect to idolatry. It may be freedom from a fear and scarcity mindset that is always trying to acquire a bigger safety net that would assure one a little more security.

Liberation is a major theme in scripture, perhaps most associated with the Israelites' exodus from Egypt and long journey to the Promised Land. They were set free from slavery, although they longed for the security and hearty meals of their captivity as they wandered in the desert (Ex. 16:3). Jesus set people free from whatever was binding them, whether a physical ailment (Lk. 13:10-17), death (Jn. 11:38-44), or condemnation (Lk. 8:1-11). The Pauline epistles emphasize how Christ has granted us freedom from both sin and death (Rom. 6:15-23).

For those who are oppressed by systems of power, loving self may come in the form of standing up to the oppressive systems while supported by the power of the gospel. Liberation theologies—including Latin American, U.S. Black, Feminist, and Asian American—consider the Christian faith from the perspective of the poor and marginalized, emphasizing social justice and human rights. These theologies embrace the suffering and hope found in the struggle of many, rejecting the injustice of the status quo and seeking out the freedom offered by God. Familiar biblical passages can take on very different meanings when considered from the viewpoint of those seeking liberation, as opposed to those in power. The non-violence movement builds on these values, as well as the practices of Jesus, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day, and others.

The voluntary simplicity movement offers additional insights into the liberation and freedom gained by living a simpler lifestyle with fewer possessions.¹⁵ Within the Church, voluntary simplicity is a value evident in vows of poverty and monasticism, but also one promoted by the Catholic Worker movement and Jesuit Volunteer Corps. Having more possessions means needing more effort to clean, categorize, store, and move them. The average size of an American home is larger than ever, but they are more expensive, harder to maintain and keep clean, and more costly to heat or cool. Voluntary simplicity prioritizes people and communities ahead of objects and acquisitions, largely because it is a more fulfilling way to live. It is an example of how placing Sabbath limits on our life can give us greater freedom.

The importance of liberation can be found in other aspects of our faith. The movement of our liturgical cycle through Lent (death) and Easter (resurrection) enacts the process of liberation. The sacrament of reconciliation and the penitential rite ritualize being set free from sin so that we are freer to reach out to others in love.

Practicing Sabbath economics is Good News to everyone, not just the poor. When we embrace gospel values we live freer lives with a greater sense of inner peace. That newfound freedom gives us an opportunity and responsibility to give to others. After examining the first two themes of Stewardship and Sabbath economics, we now turn to our final theme of how we love God, neighbor, and ourselves by responding to our call to serve.

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