Enough Is Enough - Martin Wiles

So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. 1 Timothy 6:8 NLT

Enough is enough when focus is correct. When it’s not, it’s called discontent.

Every time I make an order from Amazon, I see the all-familiar words: “Customers who bought this item also bought…” Then I see the picture … or pictures.

When my wife and I updated (a word that’s all too common, meaning we did something we didn’t need to do) to a new smartphone, we didn’t stop with simply purchasing—or financing—the phone. The salesperson was more than happy to show us other gadgets customers normally purchase when they buy the phone. Such as a screen protector, an otter box, a holder for the back, a car charger. They even offered us a few bonus dollars so we could afford to purchase them.

Upgrade is the new 21st-century word for not enough. Paul disagreed. He lived in a time when people kept things until they broke. And if possible, they then repaired them and kept them a little longer. Coming from a man who once had wealth before he met Christ and decided to follow Him, Paul now said his contentment only depended on food and clothing.

Where Jesus stayed on a regular basis is anyone’s guess. He traveled about teaching, healing, and caring. He once said foxes have dens and birds have nests but that the Son of Man (Himself) had nowhere to lay His head. Yet, He had enough because He focused on doing God’s will.

Discontent comes when my enough is not enough. And my enough is never enough when I’m not focused on the right things. Jesus said the right things were loving God with my entire heart and others as myself. He did that, and so did Paul after meeting Christ on the Damascus Road.

Focus is the key. Rather than seeing the upgrades and longing for them, I must content myself with what God gives me. He promises to provide food, shelter, and clothing. I don’t have to worry about them. He normally gives much beyond that—or upgraded models of them.

The key is what we do with things. We can use them selfishly or selflessly. When we choose the latter, enough will be just what God gives us—along with the satisfaction of knowing we have used our things to advance God’s Kingdom by loving and serving others.

Let God’s enough be enough for you.

Prayer: Father, focus our attention on loving You and others so our enough will be enough.

Tweetable: Is God's enough enough for you?

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