Watch out!  Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.  Luke 12:15

How much stuff is enough? Even if you don’t consider yourself rich, have you thought about this question in regard to your own lifestyle? What brings you satisfaction? If you got something you desired, how long did the satisfaction last?

Some things, even possessions, do hold lasting value. Yet we often embrace the idea that “more is better,” unquestionably. This distorts our priorities to the point where our extravagant ideals put us at great odds with reality. We glorify wealth without realizing how quickly it enslaves us.

A rich young man asked Jesus how to inherit eternal life. Jesus answered that instead of adding anything else to his life, he should sell everything he had and give to the poor, then come and follow Him (Luke 18:22). Today’s interesting cultural response to excessive consumption is the trend of minimalism. Minimalism seeks to highlight meaning over material and rid one’s life of excess so that we can focus elsewhere.

Money is not inherently evil, but its danger lies in becoming a replacement for God in our lives. We cannot serve both God and money (Matthew 6:24). G.K. Chesterton wrote, “There are two ways to get enough: One is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less and less.”  When our desire is for righteousness instead of wealth, we can escape the slavery and find fulfillment at the same time.

Resource Reading: Luke 18:1-43