What is it like when ‘abundance gets so extreme’? It is a common saying that ‘too much of everything is bad’. There is need to control and discipline ourselves in the time of abundance. Socrates, the great philosopher once said: “The secret of happiness you see is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less”. This tells us that moderacy should come to our mind when we have the capacity to go excess and that satisfaction does not come from having so much. What is meant to give us comfort, if abused, can rather be of harm to us.

Water which is supposed to be an agent of flourishing for plants, has become, in its extreme abundance, the direct opposite for this tree as we can see in this painting. As a Christian artist who has been brought up with the knowledge of the Bible, much of my inspiration comes from the Bible in This matter. In psalm 1, the Bible describe a righteous person to be synonymous with a tree that is planted by the waterside, “that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers” (Psalm 1:3, RSV). But when the water has grown to overshadow such tree, the opposite is what will happen.

The Bible also gives practical advices about being moderate with our resources such as money, food, alcohol, power etc, that are still relevant in today’s world. The story of Joseph in the Bible shows the wisdom of being moderate in times of abundance. Even when you have too much time, you may think you actually have the time and may be tempted to feel satisfaction but just “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.” (Proverbs 6:10-11 New International Version —NIV)

In summary, this painting is to remind us  that  we should be moderate and vigilant, avoid wasteful activities and utilise our resources very well, and to be very self disciplined in all that we do. 

‘When Abundance Becomes Abuse’ — another in my series of Nature Paintings and my entry for CollabCards’ ongoing art contest. More shots of this will be posted on my social media handles.

Medium: poster colour on paper

Size: 12.5 cm x 8.5cm

I hope to do a bigger version of this very soon. You can also pre-oder.

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