"Whatever steps we take to live the abundant life that Jesus has made possible, we can't ignore the fact that we live in the midst of political systems that affect us and our neighbors" (pg 188).
In this final chapter, Wilson-Hartgrove reminds us that our money is not really ours, but our government's, and we are really God's. It is often hard to separate ourselves from money, but that becomes necessary if we choose to live a life for God rather than for ourselves. If we begin to look at money as something that doesn't actually belong to us, life would be a lot different. But how can one live a life separated from the ownership of money? The only way really seems to be live in a community. If we separate ourselves from others, money becomes so much more important in our lives as we fight to make enough to survive, and then fight some more to live comfortably, and continue fighting to make more and more. If we live within a community, we have people to back us up when we're behind, and we can focus on things other than making money. When our focus changes, giving money back to whom it belongs seems a little easier. We must live our lives focusing on the fact that we are God's, and money is not ours. It seems that within this final tactic, the rest of them fall into place.
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Yes, our focus needs to be on God's abundance and then money won't have the same value it once had. I think the answer might be to live in a community where you have to share, but I think another answer might be to just live simply wherever you are. Frugality and generosity can lead to a life that is centered on God because the priorities are different. It's not about how much one makes or can buy, but instead about how much one can give away and live on in a simple manner. The answer is to simplify.
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