When Is Enough, Enough?
“And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.” I Timothy 6:8
This verse is certainly not the motto of advertisers and marketers. Their byword would be something like “Never Be Satisfied with Having All You Need!” Even though they don’t say this directly, the message certainly gets across to the masses. They try to convince us that we can’t live without their product. Whatever the product is that they are attempting to push off onto the public always carries with it a promise that it will make our lives better, make us more attractive or smarter, and give us contentment. However, after spending countless dollars on these products, we find that the promotions of these wonderful products are all just hype, and they never live up to the promises that they made. But we never seem to learn. We fall for the next new thing, hook, line, and sinker, only to be left with something we likely didn’t need in the first place. As Ernest P. Worrell used to say, “You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll kiss $5 goodbye.” Our lifestyles lead us to, as someone once said, “Get all you can, can all you get, and sit on the can.”
We’ve all likely seen disaster movies where nearly everything and every modern convenience is gone, and folks are left to scrounge for food, clothing, and shelter. They have to compete with each other for whatever goods are left, sometimes going so far as killing each other to survive. They had become so used to “having it all” that they lost sight of what was really important. Desires had become needs and real needs were taken for granted that they would always be readily available and in abundant supply. When folks depend on money and stuff to give them satisfaction and contentment, they are completely lost when it is gone.
My grandparents lived in the same city where I still reside, yet they did not have an indoor bathroom. There was a small sink in the kitchen, but no water heater. Water had to be heated on the stove for bathing which was not a daily practice. I can even remember that they had an icebox, the forerunner of the modern refrigerator. The iceman would come and bring a huge block of ice which would be placed in the top of the icebox and would cool the contents inside. They had a wringer washer which required the washed clothes to be fed between two rollers to squeeze out the excess water. The clothes would be hung outside to dry. They had a big garden where they grew all sorts of vegetables, canning them in the summer for winter meals. This was the way that life was for most folks, but no one thought anything about it and neither did they complain.
Those who depend on the Lord, like my parents, grandparents, and so many others, realize that He is the One who supplies all needs, and we can rest in His promise to provide for us regardless of external circumstances. God’s promises are a sure thing. He will always supply what we need when we need it by His grace. We don’t have to worry about food, clothing, or shelter because God knows we need all of these things. He wants us to seek Him and His kingdom first, and He will supply all necessities to sustain life (Matthew 6:32-33). That promise alone should bring us peace and contentment.