Gift Economy

In our world, we've been conditioned to expect a return for every action. We measure and calculate our worth, our relationships, and even our giving by this system of exchange. This much service or this much product requires this much payment or this much reward. It soon becomes the entire (entire!) frame for all of life, our fundamental relationships (even marriage and children), basic self-image ("I deserve; you owe me; or I will be good and generous if it helps me, too"), and a faulty foundation for our relationship with God.

Yet, what if we moved beyond this mindset? What if life itself is meant to be lived not by quid pro quo, but by the radical generosity that asks for nothing in return? In a gift economy, there is no equivalence between what we give and how much we get. When we give to others, especially those who cannot repay, we step into a different reality—a world where value isn’t measured by reciprocity. It’s not about who deserves what; it's about realizing that life itself is a gift.

Now the only way we can do the great turnaround and understand this is if we’ve lived through at least one experience of being given to without earning. It’s called forgiveness, unconditional love, and mercy. To truly live in alignment with this deeper reality, we let go of what the world calls fair. We stop counting, stop measuring, stop tallying who owes whom. Basically, to understand the Gospel in its purity and in its transformative power, we have to stop counting, measuring, and weighing. Letting go of calculations and deservedness opens us up to experience the world not as something to conquer or control, but as a gift to be shared generously, compassionately, and without reserve.