Thought for the week: Enough really is enough - sharing what God has provided us with
I was very struck with a question I was asked recently… What is enough – and when do you know you have enough?
The question is almost impossible to answer well, for our general experience is that when we acquire more of something that we already have, we still want just that little bit extra. And if it comes our way, we are often still not quite satisfied, and are very reluctant to say that now we have enough.
There seems to be an insatiable desire for more money; additional time; extra status; increased wisdom; and, of course, ever more things. Probably a majority of us have a lot more things than we could possibly need. For example, do we really need as many pairs of shoes as there are in our wardrobes? Or as many mugs and plates in our kitchens? I certainly don’t need any more books in my study to add to those that I haven’t properly read yet.
My wife and I started the process of ‘decluttering’ our home. And it really has been quite a relief to be doing so. We’ve brought things to a local charity shop; handed other items on to friends and family; taken what is no longer needed to be recycled, and inevitably discarded some items that had simply come to the end of their useful lives.
Jesus lived in a community which was much less affluent than our own, and that makes his words in St Luke 12 speak powerfully to our increasingly materialistic age: "He said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions'."
So often his warning is ignored as we give in to the temptation to buy even more things. Almost inevitably, we find ourselves captured by greed, which is insidious, since it is the opposite of having enough, and because it is so hard to acknowledge. A lifestyle of ‘more’ is always very attractive. It is no wonder that in Ephesians 5 we are told that greed really is sinful.
The Bible does not teach that it is a virtue to live in poverty or in dire straits. Those who have more are specifically called to share willingly with those who have less. The Apostle Paul put it beautifully when he told his young friend Timothy to "be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share".
It can be quite hard to say "I do have enough", yet equally hard to share what God has provided with others whose need is so much greater than our own. But Scripture’s call cannot be avoided - Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: … evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
Enough really is enough, and decluttering really is good for the soul!