How Much Is Enough?

Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for God has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

Someone once asked John D. Rockefeller, Sr. how much money it takes to make a man happy. His answer was unforgettable: “Just a little bit more.” To be greedy is like drinking salt water: the more you drink the thirstier you become! The consuming desire for more is not only wrong . . . it’s dumb. The greed monster is never satisfied.

In the Bible God warns against the dangers of covetousness again and again (Exodus 20:17; Luke 12:15; Colossians 3:5; etc.). He longs for his children to be freed from the chaos and pain this sin creates. Perhaps Paul sums up the biblical teaching best when he says: For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs (I Timothy 6:10).

The Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) wrote a famous short story in which the folly of greed is graphically portrayed. How Much Land Does a Man Need? is about a farmer named Pahom who, dissatisfied with the size of his farm, constantly looked for opportunities to purchase more land. But he was never content. He always wanted more. One day Pahom heard that a nomadic Bashkir chief in the eastern part of his country was offering to sell land cheap. The only condition was that the buyer had to circumnavigate, on foot and in a single day, the territory he intended to purchase. After a long journey, Pahom met the Bashkir chief who explained the rules. Placing his fox-fur cap on the ground he said, “This will be the mark. Start from here and return here again. All the land you go round shall be yours.”

Pahom began at daybreak and walked toward the sun. Covering many miles, it seemed that the farther he went, the better the land became. His desire for land made it almost impossible to resist the urge to go further than he had originally designed. As he turned north, then back west and finally south, Pahom knew he had to walk faster in order to reach the starting point by sunset. But as he walked he kept making choices to wander farther afield so that his journey would be sure to encompass other choice pieces of land that he saw. As the evening shadows began to fall, Pahom knew he must hurry in order to reach the fox-fur cap by sunset. His walk became a jog, then a run, and finally a sprint. Arriving at his point of departure, he fell to the ground in utter exhaustion touching the cap just as the rim of the sun disappeared beneath the horizon.

“Ah, that’s a fine fellow!” exclaimed the Chief. “He has gained much land!” Pahom’s servant came running up and tried to raise him, but he saw that blood was flowing from his mouth. Pahom was dead! The Bashkirs clicked their tongues to show their pity. His servant picked up the spade and dug a grave long enough for Pahom to lie in and buried him in it. Six feet from his head to his heels was all he needed.

 

 Spread out your petition before God, and then say, “Thy will, not mine, be done.” The sweetest lesson I have learned in God’s school is to let the Lord choose for me.”  —Dwight L. Moody

 

point to ponder • Have you learned to be content in all circumstances? (Philippians 4:11)

prayer focus • For those who have put their faith in God and are wealthy, that their money or belongings would be used to further God’s kingdom.