How Much is Enough?

When grappling with this question, images of Jacob wrestling with the Lord all night come to mind.  I believe the question of how much is enough to be the most crucial issue of our day.  When God’s people pin this question to the ground, it will cause more than cheers from a crowd or a notch on our spiritual belts.  There will be an eruption from Heaven as Jesus mounts His white horse and returns for His bride, who has finally returned to Him.

I tried wrestling…once.  It was the summer after my freshman year in high school and my civics teacher talked me into coming to open gym.  He gave me a pair of wrestling shoes and pointed me in the direction of one of his best wrestlers. He was a hundred-pound eighth grader.  I was competing for the fullback position on the varsity football squad, and so I confidently attempted to “tackle” this little man and show him how a football player does things.  Before I knew it he had my face plastered into the mat and it occurred to me that I had no idea what I was doing.  He did.  I was not in wrestling shape.  He was.  He twisted me into a pretzel and made me scream “Uncle”.  But my small friend taught me an important lesson.  Never overlook an opponent.

I’ve asked the question, “How much is enough?” of many of my clients over the years.  Few have ever grappled with this question and fewer yet can give an answer.   At the surface it seems an unworthy opponent, much like my wrestling friend. But to ponder it is to open a Pandora’s box.  It could change…everything.  Our jobs.  Our purchases.  Our activities.  Our friends and family.  Our lives.  We don’t want change.  We want comfort and control and security, and more of it.  And herein lies the issue.  Will themore we want ever satisfy?  Will it ever be enough?

Paul has some insight in his letter to the Philippians:

“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”   Philippians 4:11-13

David addresses the issue in his famous Psalm:

 “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want…”   Psalm 23:1

I admit to you that I’m not a trained Bible scholar.  However, the common theme I see in these verses is Jesus.  When Jesus gives us strength, we can be content even when we have no food.  When Jesus is our shepherd, we are commanded not to live in a state of “want.”  When we have Jesus, we have enough.  And this is the heart of the issue with the question, “How much is enough?”  We can throw out arbitrary numbers and talk about the income we’ll need during retirement, and these are important and relevant.  But the real question we don’t want to wrestle with is this, “Is Jesus enough?”  If my house burned down…If my wife got cancer…If my kids were killed by a drunk driver…If I was left homeless and hungry and cold and dying…would Jesus still be enough for me?  If we dig into the Word, if we study the scriptures to discover who the real Jesus was and is, we will find Him.  And we will find that He is more than enough.  And that discovery will release us from the bondage of “more” so that we can walk in freedom and peace and joy and love.  And our hearts will corporately turn back towards the Father and the end will be near.

Heaven is waiting.  Is Jesus enough?