How Much Is Enough?

How many times do you lay out the Christmas gifts you bought for the kids—side by side, calculator in hand—re-checking again to make sure they all got the same. And that it looks about the same. It’s that time of year again and about now I’m thinking it’s a good thing Christmas comes on a set date and not necessarily when I feel satisfied that everything is absolutely fair.

I just keep asking myself—how much is enough??? And the question goes way beyond presents for the kids. How much is enough money in my paycheck, or food in my belly, or free time for relaxing? The definition of “enough” seems to fluctuate even more than the stock market! For instance, when we were first married we crowded into our tiny “dog house” apartment a card table with two folding chairs and a foam mattress (we put on the floor) that the nearby jail had disposed of because it didn’t meet regulations for the prisoners. It wasn’t enough for them, but we slept just fine on it! Did we have enough? Today we budget for car repairs and no longer have to use grocery money when the exhaust has to be replaced. Yet we worry more about enough now than we ever did then. How much do we really need?

The term “financial security” is thrown around today like it’s a constitutional right when actually it is an oxymoron. The more money I have the less secure I feel. Bottom line--if security is defined by the amount of money in the checking account, there will never be enough.

When is the last time you heard somebody say, “I have enough”? How radical is that! It changes everything. It’s not waiting for a particular dollar goal to be met. It’s now. With whatever I have, I have enough. It is contentment. It is living responsibly while trusting God to make up the difference.