Tip of My Iceberg

photo courtesy of Jimgming Pan on Unsplash

I’ve been confronted lately with the dramatic difference between needs and wants.

There are so many conflicts worldwide where many people are left without the necessary means to live and provide for their families. We see refugees in many places, trying to escape one area of oppression, and are forced to go to a country where the treatment is equally poor.

The war continues in Ukraine, and people all over the world are contributing to the humanitarian aid for them. Sudan and South Sudan are at war and refugees from both countries are caught in the middle.

Hearing of all the challenges of life around the world has made me aware of how fortunate I am to have a roof over my head and food to put on the table for my family.

The harder question is: Am I satisfied with that?

Too often, I think I “need” more than I actually do. I was at the grocery store, and they had an item I’d planned on buying. Buy one, get one half off. Without thinking, I got both.

I didn’t need the second one. The chances are good I won’t use it before it expires.

We fill our lives with stuff, thinking stuff will satisfy, will fill spaces of loneliness, rejection, or anger. If something is good, more probably is better.

We live in the land of excess. Too often having more makes us want more.

Jesus warned the crowds about wanting more than they needed.

“Speaking to the people, He went on, ‘Take care! Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot.’” Luke 12:15

Greed leads to a desire for more. Even Solomon commented on the heaviness of accumulating wealth just to have it.

“Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!” Ecclesiastes 5:10

Loving money leads to despair; if that is the focus, there will only be frustration because there will never be enough. Longing for more can lead to an unhealthy obsession for accumulating what isn’t needed.

If there is an abundance, give it away. Share what you’ve been given; steward what you have. Become a conduit of hope for others instead of hoarding what you don’t need.

God loves a cheerful giver, someone who sees the needs of others as more important than gaining more things.

What do you value?