Is the Economy the Way to Gauge America’s Spiritual Well-being?

How do we measure our compassion as a nation?

The stock market is up, unemployment is down and Americans are optimistic about the economic outlook. But is the economy the way to measure the spiritual health of our nation?

I’m reminded of the story in the gospel of Luke in which a wealthy landowner builds big buildings to store his many possessions. He thinks he can finally relax and enjoy life. But God says, “You fool, this very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?”

I couldn’t cheer this week’s economic report. I’m far more concerned about what ails the spirit our country: the bruising partisanship, the debilitating lack of honesty and accountability among our public officials, and most especially the discouraging lack of compassion toward our society’s most vulnerable.

This past week, we also saw how the drive for revenge against one’s perceived opponents further poisons our government.

It would be understandable to simply throw up one’s hands up and lose hope. Or, as I sometimes do, contemplate moving to a small Italian village by the sea.

Still, as a student of the monastic tradition, I refuse to give into despair. I take comfort in that most durable of spiritual guides, the 6th century Rule of St. Benedict, whose timeless wisdom offers a way forward from the morass in which we find ourselves.

The Rule of St. Benedict offers guidance for the 21st century.

“Your way of acting should be different from the world’s way; the love of Christ must come before all else,” St. Benedict says in his chapter, “The Tools for Good Works.”

He adds: “You are not to act in anger or nurse a grudge. Rid your heart of all deceit. Never give a hollow greeting of peace or turn away when someone needs your love. Bind yourself to no oath lest it prove false, but speak the truth with tongue and heart.”

Speak the truth with tongue and heart!

Benedict also has some cogent words to say about leadership: “Excitable, anxious, extreme, obstinate, jealous or over-suspicious she or he must not be. Such a [leader] is never at rest.”

Leaders, he says, must remember that “more will be expected of one to whom more has been entrusted.” Anyone who seeks to be a leader must guide others “by living example.” And that example, Benedict says, is Christ.

Pope Francis says love is the source of the meaning of life.

In a 2017 TED Talk, Pope Francis noted how every element in the universe interacts with each other. He observed, “The future flows through our relationship with others. Each person’s existence is tied to that of others.”

This week voting begins in the first presidential primary. As we contemplate how we want to move forward as a nation, may we reflect on Pope Francis’ words. May we remember where our true treasure lies. May we determine our greatness by the measure, not of our economy, but of our compassion.

“For what good is it to gain the whole world, yet forfeit one’s soul?”