You’re worthy of abundance

Goodness is an abundance word.

Now, if that sentence made you cringe - which it might of if you've been part of prosperity gospel type communities of faith at any point for any length of time - forget everything you think you know about abundance.

Abundance is not quid pro quo; tithe and you get this, be good and you get that, live righteously and have the windows of heaven open over life. These exchanges are a mechanism of control and manipulation and defy the nature of abundance on a fundamental level.

Because just as much as goodness is an abundance word, abundance is also a grace word. Abundance is everywhere, already, here, before you've done or said a thing, before you've earned it, before you've fought for it, before you've proved that you’re worthy of it. The very nature of abundance means that it must be widely available to all and everyone, no strings attached, no secret handshake, no test to pass.

Abundance is what happens when you stop needing more, and you open your heart to the 'all' that you are.

In Judaism, the whole point of creation, the reason why you are here, is to be the recipient of God's goodness. In the creation poem recorded in Genesis, everything that was created embodied the goodness of the creator (God saw that it was good); it was an outflow of Divine generosity. The universe and all that pertains to it is predicated on the foundation of goodness, and the Divine intention is to continue to provide goodness to all the realms of this world. God created and creates the world as the supreme manifestation of good and sustains it constantly with the flow of goodness.

Goodness is what happens when you stop trying to be good and you surrender to the goodness of your origin and design.

Jesus said:

"I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect—life in its fullness until you overflow."*

Doesn't that sound good, as in, wrapped up in goodness?

In Ancient Hebrew, one of the words for abundance is 'shefa,' which is also the word for 'flow.' There is a constant flow of life-giving energy, an abundance of life, all around us. It's here, already.

Jesus wasn't giving his friends his top ten tips for getting wealthy. He was inviting them into the flow of abundance and goodness that was already running wild and free. Remember, Jesus was a Rabbi in a nation, and a people group, that was living under the oppression and rule of a foreign military superpower where they were being exploited at every turn - taxed up to 90% of their income, sold into slavery, slaughtered for stealing what they needed to survive. Jesus wasn't speaking to The Forbes Richest List, he was speaking to the victims of tyrannical profiteering, of control and genocide, of colonisation and dominion. He told them, his friends, who were in the middle of this muck and mess, that there was a flow of abundance and grace and goodness even there, in the midst of that.

"I have come to give you everything in abundance..."*

It's here already, grace and goodness so abundant and real and true, you won't have to pretend to be happy to experience it. You don't have to sweep your failings under the rug to feel worthy of it. You don't have to hide your true self in a closet to feel embraced by it. You just have to open your heart to the ALL that you already are, and all the ways that you damage yourself and others trying to attain it will begin to fade.

Mindful Prompt: Abundance is what happens when you stop needing more and you open your heart to the all that you are.

Continued in the series "What Good Will Come From This", this week with a subscription in the App.

Written by Liz Milani.
Instagram: @thepracticeco

*John 10:10