Day Thirty-Six
ENOUGH
Content people don’t always have the best of everything, but they always make the best of everything.
—DAVE RAMSEY
When is enough enough? Enough is the result of the right kind of attitude that we embrace concerning money. Paul made it clear that godliness with contentment is the source of the greatest gain. (See 1 Timothy 6:6.) He did not say that the greatest gain is having the most money in the bank.
In this quest to experience prosperity in every realm of life, you are now coming to the end of your journey. I have placed financial prosperity last, not because God is not concerned about it; He definitely is. However, so many have entertained such a skewed perspective on prosperity that we need to review it in context. If every other realm of your life is broken, and yet you still pursue financial increase, you are out of balance. Prosperity in the true biblical sense is so much more than money—it is wholeness in every area of life. This is why we have been exploring eight key areas that a prosperous soul directly impacts. Financial prosperity is only one of them.
There are those who serve money, and then there are those whose money serves them. Rich, poor—doesn’t matter. Anyone can be in bondage to the pursuit of financial gain. The person living in financial lack lives hand to mouth, needing to get up every morning to go to work for fear that without that week’s work hours, food wouldn’t be on the table, rent wouldn’t be paid, the kids wouldn’t have school supplies, and the like—and that’s not even considering putting money away for college, retirement, or those big purchases we would all love to make, from new furniture to a new car.
Likewise, the one in bondage to money can also appear to be the model of success, but in fact has leveraged their credit to the maximum. They have a wonderful big house with a mortgage they can’t afford. They have nice cars that the bank owns. They pay for everything on credit cards, hoping to catch up on last month’s groceries with this month’s paycheck.
And there are those who have bank accounts overflowing, who could write a check for a new home if they wanted to, but they just don’t feel they are secure enough. All of these people, whether in lack or abundance, have no peace or contentment when it comes to financial matters. No matter what they do, they will never have enough.
Enough is an attitude. It is the result of the person who sees money for what it is—a tool, not a goal. They recognize that money by itself is not good and it is not bad; money is a method. It is a means to accomplish something. It is a currency for making a transaction. When we start to see money as more than what it truly is, we have perverted our understanding of its purpose. This is what drags us into the place of bondage.
Life is not about acquiring more money; it is about enjoying what we have and celebrating the increase along the way. Contentment is a powerful attitude, for it keeps us out of financial bondage. Our ultimate Source of trust is Jehovah Jireh—the Lord whose provision shall be seen—not a dollar amount.
Contentment does not mean that pursuing success in life is bad. Not at all. It just means that you do not idolize success, and that your definition of success is very different from the world’s.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
In what ways can the pursuit of more (more money, more possessions, etc.) put people into a place of bondage?
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you honestly evaluate your own heart. Are you living a content, grateful life? Or, do you find yourself being drawn into the system of the world that emphasizes acquiring and pursuing more?
God is not against you pursuing success; He is the God of increase and promotion! Why do you think that it is so important to live a thankful, grateful life if you are going to pursue greater success—and not fall into a place of bondage?
ACTION STEPS
Now godliness with contentment is great gain.
—1 TIMOTHY 6:6
Think of some ways you can practice contentment in your life today. This is how you live from an enough perspective. This may take a few minutes, as society trains us to always be looking to acquire more. Even though success is not evil, to live in bondage to the idea that “more equals contentment” is to believe a lie. I want to help you root out any lies you may be believing about contentment and enjoy where you are and what you have.