German Minister for Finance Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble speaks to the congregation at the Stiftskirche, Stuttgart, Germany, at the Eucharist worship service that opened the LWF Eleventh Assembly, 20-27 July 2010. © LWF/Erick Coll

20.07.2010

‘Too little, but also too much’

Prosperous Nations Need to Recognise When Enough is Enough: German Finance Minister

STUTTGART, Germany, 20 July 2010 – “There is a ‘too little’, but there is also a ‘too much’”, the German Minister for Finance Dr Wolfgang Schäuble said after the opening worship service of the Eleventh Assembly of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) today. In an address strongly supporting the Assembly theme, “Give Us Today Our Daily Bread”, Schäuble said that the economic system of wealthy countries is faulty on two counts – “it deprives too many people of their basic needs [and] it also fosters an attitude of unlimited and unrestrained desire, which continues in the face of wealth and abundance.”

Western countries do well when they focus on abolishing hunger worldwide, the minister said, but they should equally commit themselves to limiting their economic growth. “We should be able to accept that falling behind emerging nations like China or India or Brazil in our growth rate does not mean we are failing. It means that we already have achieved substantial wealth for large parts of the population.”

In the richer parts of the world it is common practice to suggest that we need an unlimited amount of things, Schäuble said. Asking God for “daily bread” reminds us that we do not need a lot at all; we are asking God to give us what we really need. “This contrasts with our own excessive demands to fulfil every possible wish we might have.” Many Western countries have reached a wealth “saturation” point. “In this situation, our needs lie elsewhere,” he said.

Asking God for our daily bread is important in a world where advanced technologies can tempt us to forget that we depend on God for all that we have. The minister said that in a technology-driven life we can persuade ourselves that we are entirely in control of our lives and of the world. While technology can improve and even transform the lives of many people, “there are limits to what we can achieve, and it is important for us to be reminded of those limits.” He said that while he was not discouraging further advances in science and technology, the fundamental truth contained in the words, “Give Us Today Our Daily Bread”, reminds us that we cannot do everything we think we can, and so we are asking God for a gift.

An active member of a Protestant church, Schäuble said it was clear, and also very important, that faith and politics “are not and could never be entirely different things.” He said that Christian belief in God can never be detached from respect and love for our fellow humans. “The commandments to love God and to love one’s neighbor are directly related: one cannot obey one without obeying the other.” In the modern era this belief has led to the rise of human rights.

He said that democracies have much to gain from the contributions of people who are motivated by the love of God. “It is one of the major challenges facing modern, democratic countries that the insights faith produces and the energies it sets free in believers are brought to bear on the political process of decision-making.”

(538 words)

20.07.2010

‘Too little, but also too much’

Prosperous Nations Need to Recognise When Enough is Enough: German Finance Minister

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