51. HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?

What does “The Good Life” mean to you? Driving the fastest car? Owning the biggest house? Wearing the latest clothes and having the most prestigious job? God’s concept is very different. Jesus said “Guard against...greed. Life is not measured by how much you own” G. K. Chesterton said “There are two ways to get enough. One is to accumulate more and more, the other is to desire less and less.” After months of solitude in a Soviet prison in Siberia, Alexander Solzhenitsyn discovered the above truth when his freedom, his friends, his home and his books were all taken away from him. Admiral Richard Blyth wrote,”I am learning something.... A man can live profoundly well without masses of things.” What a great place to arrive at! Harold Sala writes.. “People today are possessed by possessions, as no other generation in history.” The more complex life becomes, the more we convince ourselves that we need more (stuff) to be happy. Having obtained what we think we need, we soon become unhappy again because now there’s a new model on the market with more bells and whistles. It takes far less than we think, to discover happiness if (it) comes from within and we brake the stronghold things have on us and our lives. So how Much is Enough? Jesus answered this question when speaking to the “Rich young Ruler” who wrestled with that same question “Sell your possessions… give to the poor and you will have treasure in Heaven. Then come follow Me.” (Matthew 19: 21.) Not the answer the man expected! Does that mean God is opposed to you having money? No absolutely not, the operative words in Jesus’ answer are “Come follow Me” If we truly follow Jesus we can’t help but be like Him who never allowed anything to take the place of God in His life. When Considering the life of Jesus’ ie. His earthly life,, I find He possessed the world, yet He owned nothing. In fact, out of His nothingness He gave Sight to the Blind, Hearing to the Deaf, Food to the Hungry, Healing to the Sick and Life to the dead. Yes, He was God, but He was also Man and He showed us how man ought to live a submitted life to the Father, just as He did. Wasn’t it Jesus Himself who said “Even greater things than this will you do” Personally I don’t believe all those miracles which Jesus did, were done in His capacity as God, but, as a result of being a submissive Son to the will of His Father. In (Luke 12:31) we read:-- “Seek first His Kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.” So at what point does need become greed? One Author writes; Rarely does a person wake up one morning and say “I’ve been living for an ego trip...I’m going to get rid of the big car and fancy yacht and go and live in the slums working with the poor.” No, God deals with each of us individually. And in different ways. What may be okay for some may not necessarily be okay for others. When Pastor Renny Scott started wrestling with this problem, he said “I just couldn’t resolve the issue of living in a peaceful bedroom community while Hell on earth was all around me in the form of Hunger and Poverty.” He went to Africa with “World Vision”, which was the beginning of his involvement with the needs of others. Next he moved into the inner city, which was his second step. Then he took a church of fifty people which met in a school cafeteria. When a Deacon suggested they give the entire Sunday morning offering to the local mission,- Scott swallowed hard because his salary (which wasn’t much) came out of that collection. Eventually he and his wife came to grips with their lifestyle and did something he’s since challenged many to do… and say “this much and no more”, and everything above that was given away… The little church grew in to a body of 1,800 people who matched dollar for dollar in buildings for missions. Today they have taken on the challenge of finding affordable housing for the homeless in their community. Scott says “I have to pause and ask myself “What I’d want to be doing if Christ returned today. And found myself answering from (Matthew 24 and 25) To take my talents and invest them wherever they were most needed. There are many needy people in our community these days, who require feeding, dressing, help with medical bills and wood for the winter fires ahead. “But for the Grace of God any of us could be in the same position as them .” So don’t judge them unless you have walked a mile in their shoes. Our job is to give and God will do the rest. Thank you for reading “How Much Is Enough”, I believe there is food for thought for all of us in these few words…. God bless. Phaline.