The most telling word in the American appetite is “more.” The supposition is that when we have “it” we’ll finally find happiness. When we gain “it” we’ll have arrived. When we find “it” we’ll attain the peace and relaxation for which we’ve been so long looking. The problem is that there is never enough of “it” to be had. We always want “more.”
People faithfully save money all their working lives in order to have more of it when they retire. Now they’ll have more time to spend with their kids and they’ll have more to share with them and more opportunities to relax while they do it. The challenge arises when the faithful saver remembers how hard he worked in order to accumulate more and parting with some becomes more difficult.
Self worth is often tied to that word.
I’m not the man I hoped I’d be by this time in my life. I had hoped that by now I’d have done more.
If my ex wife and I had found a way to love each other more, we’d still be together.
If I had more faith, I’d understand more of what is going on in this world.
If I had found more time to spend with my kids, they wouldn’t be so mixed up now.
From the poorest street bum to the richest man on earth, the deepest craving is for more. The street bum says that $50 a day would take care of him for the rest of his life. The working man dreams longingly of the day his salary reaches $50 per hour. Upward aspiring professionals regard $50 in ten minutes as a worthy goal. The richest people among us hold to the dream that $50 per second isn’t out of the realm of possibility.
If most aspirants are questioned when the goal is finally eclipsed they will reluctantly admit that, deep down, they had hoped for more.
This cancerous word condemns an individual to a life that will never be good enough. Disappointment lurks around the corner of each accomplishment. The unending pursuit of “more” is a terminal disease.
The whole point of the Bible is to teach people to rest from the stress of life. Learn to truly trust God. He said that He would take care of you, and He will.
It’s not what our eyes see and our senses reveal that really matters. The only elements of life that will transcend this one are spiritual, our bodies will remain on this earth after we die, just like everything else we possess.
Several passages in the Bible help to make this point.
Don’t fall in love with money. Be satisfied with what you have. The Lord has promised that he will not leave us or desert us. That should make you feel like saying, “The Lord helps me! Why should I be afraid of what people can do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6
Some people think religion is supposed to make you rich. And religion does make your life rich, by making you content with what you have. We didn’t bring anything into this world, and we won’t take anything with us when we leave. So we should be satisfied just to have food and clothes. People who want to be rich fall into all sorts of temptations and traps. They are caught by foolish and harmful desires that drag them down and destroy them. The love of money causes all kinds of trouble. Some people want money so much that they have given up their faith and caused themselves a lot of pain. 1 Timothy 6:5-10
I have learned to be satisfied with whatever I have. I know what it is to be poor or to have plenty, and I have lived under all kinds of conditions. I know what it means to be full or to be hungry, to have too much or too little. Christ gives me the strength to face anything. Philippians 4:11-13
If you are stuck in the rat race and are presently condemned to the “more” mentality, step out for a breather. If you stay in the race it will kill you before your time. Go on the internet and find a copy of Nathanial Hawthorn’s “The Great Stone Face” and read it. You’ll clearly see how to live life. Spend time reading the Bible and learn the truths God communicated to His people over the ages. If you pursue this path in your life, some day you will glance around at your surroundings and comprehend that you have become truly rich.