There is no end to WANT…
unless somewhere along the way we learn to say:
I HAVE ENOUGH.
Contentment does not mean giving up.
It means appreciating what is already in your hands while you continue the journey.
Shakespeare…
I have often used his work to make a point.
The man gets around.
Love.
Money.
Ambition.
Jealousy.
Power.
Human nature.
He covered quite a bit of territory.
And here is a subject that remains very much alive today.
MONEY.
Borrowing it.
Lending it.
Wanting it.
Losing it.
Having too much.
Having too little.
And somewhere in the middle…
learning when enough is ENOUGH.
GO WILLIAM…
In Hamlet, Shakespeare gives us these familiar words:
“Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.”
Then comes another famous line:
“This above all: to thine own self be true.”
Now there is plenty to chew on.
Shakespeare was not writing a modern financial-planning manual.
But the human problem underneath those words has not gone anywhere.
Money between people can become complicated.
Very complicated.
WHAT IT MEANS TODAY
So what do we do?
We borrow.
We lend.
We finance.
We charge.
We mortgage.
We promise.
And when it is handled poorly…
money can become connected to:
arguments,
broken friendships,
divorce,
bankruptcy,
lies,
deception,
resentment,
and false hopes.
Money itself did not necessarily create all that.
Human behavior surrounding the money did.
PAUSE FOR CAUSE.
Borrowing is not automatically wrong.
Lending is not automatically wrong.
Used wisely, credit can help someone buy a home, build a business, obtain an education or manage a legitimate need.
The trouble begins when we start asking money to support a life that reality cannot afford.
That is when tomorrow begins paying for today’s appetite.
ANOTHER QUOTE HAS ITS WAY
We have all heard:
“Money is the root of all evil.”
That is not actually what the biblical passage says.
The thought is closer to:
THE LOVE OF MONEY is a root of all kinds of evil.
Big difference.
Money is a tool.
A tool can build.
A tool can destroy.
The character of the person using it matters.
I sometimes joke that I grew up hearing only the shortened version…
which may explain why I grew up poor.
LOL.
Had somebody explained the whole thought, perhaps I could have said:
“Fine. I won’t LOVE money…
but I wouldn’t mind having enough of it.”
There is nothing automatically noble about poverty.
There is nothing automatically corrupt about wealth.
The question is:
WHAT DOES MONEY DO TO YOU?
And what do YOU do with it?
ONE OF MY FAVORITE PROVERBS
There is a prayer in Proverbs that has always impressed me.
Its essence is:
Keep falsehood away from me.
Give me neither poverty nor riches.
Give me what I need.
Why?
Because too much may tempt a person to believe they need nothing beyond themselves.
Too little may tempt a person toward desperation and wrongdoing.
What an interesting prayer.
Not:
MAKE ME RICH.
Not:
MAKE ME POOR.
But:
GIVE ME ENOUGH.
That is a powerful word.
ENOUGH.
THE PRAYER OF ENOUGH
This is where I find myself standing.
We are passing through.
We arrive with nothing in our hands…
and despite all our collecting…
we leave much the same way.
The house stays.
The furniture stays.
The investments stay.
The trophies stay.
The bank account changes names.
What travels forward through other people is something else.
Your character.
Your influence.
Your example.
Your kindness.
Your word.
The memories you created.
There is no natural end to WANT.
There is always:
another house,
another car,
another dollar,
another upgrade,
another possession,
another something.
At some point, YOU have to put an end to it.
You have to be able to look around and say:
I AM GRATEFUL.
I HAVE ENOUGH.
That does not mean you stop growing.
It does not mean you stop working.
It does not mean ambition disappears.
It means ambition no longer owns you.
CONTENTMENT IS NOT COMPLACENCY
This distinction matters.
Being content does not mean:
“I don’t care anymore.”
It does not mean:
“I will never improve.”
It does not mean:
“I have no goals.”
Contentment means you can pursue tomorrow without insulting today.
You can want improvement without despising what you already have.
You can build wealth without worshiping wealth.
You can enjoy possessions without allowing possessions to become your identity.
That is a much healthier relationship with abundance.
MAKE THE MOST OF EVERYTHING
If you have little…
make the most of it.
If you have much…
make the most of it.
If you have time…
use it.
If you have knowledge…
share it.
If you have money…
direct it wisely.
If you have love…
give some away.
If you have ability…
PUT LEGS ON IT.
Life does not require everybody to possess the same amount.
But it does ask us what we are doing with whatever is presently in our hands.
That is stewardship.
And that applies to far more than money.
LAST THOUGHT ON THE MATTER…A PSALM
There is another biblical thought that has stayed with me.
The writer looks back over a long life and essentially says:
I was young…
and now I am old…
and I have not seen the righteous forsaken.
That is the perspective of someone looking BACK.
That matters.
A young person often asks:
“How much can I get?”
Someone who has traveled farther may begin asking:
“How much did I really need?”
Very different question.
Time has a way of changing the arithmetic.
RICHIE SPEAKS
Here is one Richie rule:
There is no end to WANT until YOU put an end to it.
Another:
Contentment does not mean you quit climbing.
It means you can appreciate the view from where you are standing.
And one more:
Money becomes dangerous when the servant starts giving orders to the master.
PEARLS FROM THE BOOKS
From the spirit of Pearls for the Soul:
“Enough is not a number. It is the point where gratitude becomes stronger than appetite.”
From the spirit of God I AM:
“What is placed in your hands matters less than what your inner life decides to do with it.”
From the spirit of It Is Finished:
“Release the belief that one more possession will finally complete what only inner peace can settle.”
PEARLS INSIGHT
Contentment is not the rejection of ambition, money or material success.
It is the ability to distinguish between healthy desire and endless appetite.
Financial resources can provide security, freedom and opportunity, but they cannot determine when a person feels that life is sufficient.
That boundary has to be established internally.
The practical question becomes:
Can I work for more while remaining grateful for what I already have?
PEARLS CONNECTION
This connects directly with EIGHT MILLION WORTHLESS DOLLARS.
Money can be abundant while the inner life remains impoverished.
It also connects with BEST GIFT OF ALL…THE GIFT OF SELF.
Some of life’s greatest wealth cannot be deposited in a bank.
And THIS PERSPECTIVE ON MATERIAL GOODS CAN HELP YOU reminds us that possessions are useful…
but temporary.
Use them.
Enjoy them.
Manage them.
Just don’t ask them to tell you who you are.
FINAL SAY
Make the most of everything.
But somewhere along the way…
learn the prayer of ENOUGH.
Enough money to meet your responsibilities.
Enough humility to remember where it came from.
Enough wisdom to use it well.
Enough generosity to share.
Enough character not to compromise yourself getting more.
Enough gratitude to enjoy today.
We are passing through.
So work.
Build.
Save.
Invest.
Give.
Enjoy.
But do not spend your entire journey chasing MORE only to discover that ENOUGH was traveling beside you the whole time.
I am grateful to be here.
I am grateful to be here with you.
For today…
that is sufficient unto itself.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
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