Enough

“There are two ways to get enough: one is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.” -G. K. Chesterton. This quote is something we need to hear. We just finished the holiday season where we got more. I wonder how many of those things that we had to have are still even in use a month and a half later. We build bigger homes, garages, and sheds for our stuff. If we run out of room, we just rent a storage unit. I get it; the temptation is everywhere with commercials on television, ads on the internet, my friends/co-workers have something new. I believe we begin to believe if we just had something else, something newer, something bigger, etc., we would be happy. That is the lie the world is telling us because it is caught in the same trap of wanting more so it has to get your money to get more. It is a vicious cycle that never ends because there is always more to get or desire.

What is the solution? The second part of the quote is the answer. Desire less. It reminds me of what the Bible says in 1 Timothy 6:7-10. All the things we have did not come with us and are not going with us. We need to learn to be content with what we have and not always be chasing something else. The continual pursuit of more or as Timothy says “want to get rich” plunges us into ruin. I think Solomon would refer to that as vanity and chasing after the wind. We must learn that God is enough, and we can be content with whatever blessings we have in our lives. I think this is what Paul is discussing in Philippians 4:11-13. There were times in Paul’s life that the physical blessings were lean, and there were times they were abundant. Paul had learned, no matter the physical situation, to be content and that came from God. Are you content with God? Is He enough for you, no matter what you have physically?