I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want (Philippians 4:12).

Nelson Rockefeller was once asked how much money was enough. His reply? “Just a little more.”

That about captures it, don’t you think? The solution to all financial needs and wants and wishes is “just a little more.” A little more than what we have now. A little more disposable income. A little more house and the stuff that goes in it. A little more money in the bank. Not a lot. Just a little more.

How much is “enough” for you? What would it take for you to be satisfied? How much money? How much stuff? When would you push back from the table and say, “Stop”? How much would it take for you to be content?

There is something out there that defines “enough” for you. Some standard, some benchmark, some level. You may never have put it into words. “Enough” may be largely unconscious. But there is some measure you use to determine “enough.” More than you had growing up? More than you have now? Enough that you don’t need? Enough that people will finally respect you?

Many people define “enough” as having everything they want. Their desires determine what is “enough”—their cravings and hungers and hankerings. They develop their consumer reflexes to razor sharpness: “I saw . . . I wanted . . . I whipped out my credit card.”

Where desires are concerned, income is not a consideration—“Why should getting what I want be limited by what I can afford?” Tomorrow isn’t a consideration—“Why wait?” Even God is not a consideration . . . not his will, not his kingdom, not his priorities.

All that matters is the yammering want . . . feeding the yearn . . . soothing the Id.

We want. So we purchase. We experience the momentary thrill, the false validation that comes from possession. And then the consequences come crushing home. We realize the true costs involved. We feel regret, remorse, emptiness, guilt. And then, to assuage this great ache in our souls, we start all over again. Wanting. Getting. Savoring. Regretting.

Feeding the hunger only fuels the hunger. It never satisfies the hunger. When “enough” is defined principally by our appetites, enough will never be enough.

The Bible calls this cycle “greed.” It warns us that greed will never satisfy. It commands us to put greed to death. It assures us that life cannot be measured by the abundance of our possessions.

Most of us are not grasping, slavering, greed-driven must-havers. We recognize there have to be some limits on our desires.

And the “limit” we’ve chosen for ourselves involves what other people have. We look around and find a group of “comparables.” People about our age and stage of life . . . people who match our education and earning potential . . . people in similar careers. And then we define our “enough” by what they possess.

We find people who are like us and then spend our lives trying to be just like them. Never mind that their values might be radically different from ours. Never mind that they claim to serve no higher cause, no greater good. Never mind that they are in debt up to their eyeballs just to maintain the illusion of success and prosperity. If our “comparables” drive Toyotas, we’ll drive Hondas . . . if they have a 60-inch plasma-screen HDTV, we give ourselves permission to purchase one of our own . . . if they vacation in Hawaii, if they put in a sprinkler system, if they eat in expensive restaurants—that’s all the justification we need to do the same ourselves.

Once again, we find ourselves trapped in a vicious cycle. We pick our “comparables.” We let them set our standard of living. We work, earn, and spend in order to attain that standard of living for ourselves. And then we look to our peers for their acceptance, approval, and respect. Which, of course, makes pleasing them and being like them and affirming their lifestyles even more necessary for us.

The Bible calls this cycle “covetousness.” It warns us that a life measured by our neighbors is no life at all. It tells us that coveting causes a rotting in our bones.

Taking a hard look at our lifestyle standards means taking a hard look at ourselves, our motives, our priorities, and our faith. To let money choices be driven by something other than desires or neighbors means we have to submit those choices to other standards. In our materialistic, acquisitive culture, finding that “other standard” is both a challenge and a confrontation.

You are a Christian. How much is “enough” for you? Who sets your standard? |L

OTHER COLUMNS:
November 8, 2009 - Why I believe in God
October 25, 2009 - Commuting in days of evil
October 11, 2009 - Poets and don’t know it
September 27, 2009 - How Hollywood proves abortion is wrong
September 13, 2009 - Significance
August 30, 2009 - Dance alternatives
August 16, 2009 - Gluttons for gossip
August 2, 2009 - Truth from Twilight
July 19, 2009 - Visitor-friendly churches
July 5, 2009 - The Shack
June 21, 2009 - When forgiveness fails
June 7, 2009 - Re-imagining Education (Part Six)
May 24, 2009 - We are not alone
May 3, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part five)
April 26, 2009 - Conviction
April 12, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part four)
March 29, 2009 - An evangelistic proposal
March 15, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part three)
March 1, 2009 - He makes me sick
February 15, 2009 - Re-imagining education (Part Two)
February 1, 2009 - Spiritual insecurity
January 18, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part one)
January 4, 2009 - Church and politics
December 21, 2008 - Heaven’s music
December 7, 2008 - The church and marriage
November 23, 2008 - God and the president
November 9, 2008 - A time for courage
October 26, 2008 - Likes and dislikes: the Prince Caspian movie
October 12, 2008 - What’s that noise?
September 28, 2008 - Modesty matters (part two)
September 14, 2008 - All it takes is some TLC
August 31, 2008 - Modesty matters (part one)
August 17, 2008 - What would you fight for?
August 3, 2008 - Staying through the credits
July 20, 2008 - Honor to whom honor
July 6, 2008 - Tyler Perry and the movies you’re missing
June 22, 2008 - The peaceable kingdom
May 25, 2008 - Another generation grew up
May 25, 2008 - Technology and the Bible (part two)
May 11, 2008 - Technology and the Bible (part one)
April 27, 2008 - What is truth?
April 13, 2008 - And the geek shall inherit the earth
March 30, 2008 - A charactered God
March 16, 2008 - The college choice (part two)
March 2, 2008 - Good news can be hard to hear
February 17, 2008 - The college choice (part one)
February 5, 2008 - Ten suggestions for a godly standard of living
January 20, 2008 - Expelled: that “Bueller” guy’s pro-God movie
December 23, 2007 - Teachable TV?
December 9, 2007 - Owners or stewards?
November 25, 2007 - Christians teaching Christians to change TV and film
November 11, 2007 - My money is God’s business
October 28, 2007 - Navigating under the radar
October 14, 2007 - The things God values
September 30, 2007 - Movie moments
September 16, 2007 - God’s economics
September 2, 2007 - The best books to read
August 19, 2007 - There’s a rat in ‘separate’
August 5, 2007 - The art of reading
July 22, 2007 - Atheist chic
July 8, 2007 - Why books matter: the sequel
June 10, 2007 - Books: why they matter
June 3, 2007 - The non-impact of “The Lost Tomb of Jesus”
May 27, 2007 - The universal gospel
May 13, 2007 - Loving Muslims through culture
April 29, 2007 - Hope
April 15, 2007 - God in the dark
April 1, 2007 - The gospel goes to the movies
March 18, 2007 - What the Bible movies can teach us
March 4, 2007 - What will you hurt for?
February 18, 2007 - Why Heroes . . .
February 4, 2007 - Give peace a chance
January 21, 2007 - When fairy tales are true
January 7, 2007 - WYSIWYG lives
December 31, 2006 - What’s coming next?
December 17, 2006 - Mercy, mercy
December 3, 2006 - Proof of evolution!
November 19, 2006 - Hungering for God
November 5, 2006 - Violence and government, war and peace
October 22, 2006 - The mighty meek
October 8, 2006 - The Battlestar and the Bible
September 24, 2006 - Soap for the soul
September 10, 2006 - Right vs. cool
August 27, 2006 - The painful truth
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July 30, 2006 - Christian counter culture
July 16, 2006 - The lies Hollywood tells