Go Daddy

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Enough?

What is enough? When do we know we have enough of whatever it is we are trying to get?

During an interview, John D. Rockefeller was asked, "How much money is enough?" He replied, "just a little bit more."

Do you think he was ever satisfied? How often do we want "just a little bit more" in our own lives? What are some of the things you want more of?
  • Money
  • Time
  • Energy
  • Attention from our spouse
  • Space
  • Just a little more of...
Wanting those things and more is not bad in of itself. Wanting more of something is a compliment to its value. As human beings, especially those of us who live in Western Culture, the trap we fall into more often than not is, not defining what enough is. We will always want more of the things we like, of the things that make our lives better and of the things that have some form of value to us.

Let me use an example: My daughter loves doing fun things with me. She will constantly ask to do more with me, which I love. At first I took this as a sign I was not giving her enough of my time. Then something interesting happened. After spending a whole day together doing all kinds of fun things she asked if we could do more. The next day we did a bunch of fun things together and still she wanted to do just a little bit more. What I learned is that I could take her to Disneyland for a day or a week and she would still want just another day...

As adults we are not really all that different. Do you like it when your husband pays attention to you for an hour? Would you like another hour after that? Are you stoked when you get a two dollar raise? Do you still want another? Whatever it is, do you want just a little bit more?

While wanting more is not necessarily bad, it leads to disappointment when not put in check. Ultimately we will never have enough of what we want and we will never be satisfied with the quantity of what we have unless.... 

Unless we define what enough is. If we know we will always want more, we must then place healthy limits on enough. We must speak truth to ourselves and come up with reasonable limits for enough. If you have time, watch the video below...

So you need to have a real heart to heart with yourself about what is enough. Is $50,000 enough per year and will you make the decision to be happy with that? Is having 5 hours to yourself without family enough alone time? Is ________ enough? 

As a Christian I believe that we are not satisfied because we are really looking for more Jesus. A part of us wants to be in heaven "home" with our Maker. Nothing can fill that hole but Him. In the meantime though, we can set practical limits on the things we enjoy so we're not left with a constant unsatisfied hunger.

What's enough of X for you???


Ecclesiastes 5:10
1 Timothy 6:10

3 comments:

  1. Maybe I'm too ADD, but whenever I get too much of anything, I don't want it anymore. I guess I'm just weird or something.

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  2. Elma, you never want more time with your husband, or more time by yourself? Never want just a little more on the paycheck? You are weird but that's a good thing in this case! Thanks for joining in on the conversation!

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  3. Will we ever be able to be satisfied in this life with temporal wants? "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation," (from Philippians 4:12)

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