Scarcity

On Tuesday, I finished up my managerial economics class. Honestly, I really enjoy economics. But, truth be told, I can say that I can't think of a single class over the last ten (!) years that I really did not enjoy. It is weird but that is just the way I'm wired. Anyway, economics is the "science of making decisions in the presence of scarce resources." Let's face it, we all have limited resources (e.g., time, money) available. We are forced to make decisions on how to get the most "bang for the buck."

Trent sent a link to an interesting post that specifically deals with volunteers in the church. In the midst of scarcity, people have to make choices - choices that lead to the most utility, or satisfaction - with the resources available. So let's think about people volunteering in the church. They only have a certain amount of time available in a day. Yet, God has gifted everyone with certain talents - another resource. So what happens when people get pulled into functions that they feel obligated to do but are in contrast with their God-given talents?

Well, the only thing people are going to want to do is just enough to get by. Why? Because it does not fit them. They have strong desires to do what fits them.

The result of this mis-match according to Tim Stevens,

"...frustration, bitterness and cynicism on a church staff--which no one likes to be around."

So here's the thing. This issue is not isolated to the church. Whether in business, service, education, volunteer organizations, people only have a certain number of hours available to utilize their God-given talents. This is certainly something that we can all think about with ourselves, colleagues, employees, and friends.

Why? Because Jesus gave us this model. He loves us so much to meet us right where we are. However, he loves us even more and doesn't want us to stay right where we are.

Jesus says, "Come, follow me..." (Matthew 4:19a)