A friend of mine gave me a quote recently.
"Enough is always better than too much".
"Enough" is plenty. "Too much" is problematic.
The writer of Proverbs agreed. Listen "If you find honey, eat just enough - too much of it, and you will vomit." (25:16)
In the USA we live in the land of honey and there is a lot of vomiting going on.
Of course the question is "What's enough?"
For the apostle Paul it was "If I have food and clothes, I will be content".
That's a little different than saying "If I own a home, two cars, a closet full of clothes, some jewelry, a lap top, a vacation plan, a big screen tv, and a Costco Membership...I will be content".
The enemy of "enough" is "MORE". More stuff, more gadgets, more money, more success, more power, more status.
The enemy of "enough" is "BETTER" Better stuff, better gadgets, better house, better cars, better skin, better breasts, better clothes.
The friend of "enough" is "CONTENTMENT"...Content with what we have, who we are, where we are, whose we are, what we are doing.
The friend of "enough" is "FREE"...Free love from God, free truth, free friendships, free creation to enjoy, free places to explore, free laughter to share, free service of others, free family time, free worship encounters, free church services, free exercise, free time, free imagination, free books from the library, free lots of things!
Our pursuit of "more" and "better" is often the BIG thief of "CONTENT" and "FREE".
The Bible teaches us a lot about "enough" but our consumerism blinds us to much of it.
For example we all LOVE the prayer of Jabez...MORE BLESSINGS! MORE TERRITORY!
I like that prayer and use it but if I am not careful it can become self-serving consumerism!!
BUT how many copies would the prayer of AGUR sell?
Listen to his prayer: "...Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. 9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God. (Proverbs 30:8,9)
That's the prayer of enough...may God help us learn this prayer so we can be CONTENT and FREE.
