The Economic Problem

I recently finished macroeconomics and microeconomics for school and I enjoyed it (I enjoyed finishing it more than actually doing it though). But I've been thinking a lot about why we have economics. In both the courses, there was a module that focused solely on the purpose behind the study, and that purpose surprised me. Economics only exist because of scarcity. If it weren't for scarcity there would be no reason for the study of the economy. It's interesting because even the richest people experience scarcity. So I've decided the problem is not having too little, it's always wanting more. Discontentment drives economics, humans can never be satisfied with what we have. The economic problem is not scarcity, it's discontentment. So let's look at what it means to be content with what we have. 

Contentment is not something we find, it's an attitude we must have. It doesn't depend on our circumstances, in fact, it's often in spite of them. When he wrote his letter to the Philippians, Paul had a lot of trials to contend with, his circumstances weren't great. And yet, much of the letter is about rejoicing and standing strong in the Lord. In Philippians 4:11 he writes, ".....for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances." He had decided to be content with whatever he was going through, to not desire more than God had given him, that was his attitude about everything the world threw at him. The fact is, that God pours His blessings out on His people, and being discontent is simply being blind to those blessings. 

Unfortunately, we live in a world where everything is driven by discontentment, we just don't call it that. We call it scarcity. To quote my economics textbook, "Scarcity occurs when we have unlimited wants but limited resources. For each of us, our ability to satisfy our wants is limited by the time we have, the income we earn, and so on. These limits mean that everyone has unsatisfied wants." It goes on to point out something that I found rather sad, "Everyone faces scarcity. Even the richest Americans, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, have to face scarcity because they want more than what the available resources can provide to satisfy them." No matter how rich you are, there are always things you want. And sadly, for most of America, this is true, most people suffer strongly from discontentment. Our demand almost always exceeds the supply. Economics is the study of how we cope with that. But the truth is, we can't conquer scarcity if we are simply trying to satisfy wants. Economics cannot solve the problem it has been presented with. If we simply try to find satisfaction by getting more of the resources that make us happy, then we will be endlessly searching.

I want to point you to one of my favorite movies, The Greatest Showman. Think about what Barnum did. He went from nothing, to plenty, and then back to nothing. And in one of the last scenes of the movie, he's at his lowest. That's when he realized his discontentment had driven him to lose almost everything. Then he sings the he sings the song "From Now On". And the lyrics say, "For years and years, I chased their cheers, The crazy speed of always needing more." But once he realizes this, he makes a promise to change it. The song also says, "From now on, These eyes will not be blinded by the lights, From now on, What's waited till tomorrow starts tonight, Let this promise in me start, Like an anthem in my heart, From now on." He realized that being happy didn't mean chasing the cheers of an audience, or standing on a stage, or receiving awards, it didn't require politicians praising your name, it was only necessary that you are satisfied with what you have. It took him a long time to realize that. Let's not make that mistake. 

Honestly, I'm not just talking to you. This post, like many of them, addresses my struggles. Discontentment has been a problem for me. No matter how much I get, I tend to focus on what I don't have. Often I will be surrounded by my best friends, doing what I love, having fun, and still be focused on what awards I can earn. In reality, contentment doesn't come from walking across a stage, or receiving a medal, or a bunch of first places'. It's being happy where you are. And I want to focus on that, especially in the next two weeks. So I urge myself and you to decide that from now on, we won't be in a crazy speed of always needing more, our eyes won't be blinded by the lights. From now on let's try to say with Paul, "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances." Let's prove that not everyone faces scarcity, let's show that you don't have to be a millionaire to be content. The economic problem is said to be scarcity. But the real problem is discontentment. We can conquer that in our own hearts by changing our attitude and not being blind to the blessings God gives us. That would solve the problem economics has never been able to.