Never Enough

I have two dogs.  Both of them have great temperaments, are wonderful companions and an unlimited source of entertainment.  However, one of my two dogs is dominant and, I am embarrassed to say, somewhat selfish.  When I feed the two of them, she seems intent on eating both bowls of food.  When I give them rawhide chews, she will promptly gather both and guard them.  She does the same with doggie toys.  I can’t use the dog food dispenser because she will eat the entire container at one time to avoid sharing.  Thank goodness she is a dog and not a person.

Unfortunately, this kind of behavior is not limited to dogs.  Recently I visited the home of a relative of an acquaintance.  It was one of those houses that will cause someone like me to stand with mouth hanging open.  I’m a pottery, bouquet of herbs on the table, rustic décor kind of girl.  This house was huge, opulent, extravagant, and complete with a home theater.  When I see that kind of excess I can’t help but think about how many unfortunate people the money could be spent on.  I think about all the sweet kids I met in Africa that don’t get enough water or food or have a single toy. 

But it gets even more complicated.  Not only was this house excessive, it was filled with “stuff” to an extreme.  Boxes of unopened goods that had been ordered were everywhere.  Closets were lined and stacked with garment after garment with tags still on them and shoes and accessories in numbers you can only imagine.  Cars, motorcycles, pool, and a movie library that would make Blockbuster jealous were all there too.  Now my thinking goes to a different level.  Even as repulsed as I was at this example of excess, I had to take a look at myself. 

It’s easy to be critical when we see this kind of overindulgence and smugly think how thankful we are that “we aren’t like that”.  But are we?  No, I don’t have a massive house, or am I able to buy whatever I want whenever want.  So it’s easy for me to point a finger.  However, I too am guilty too many times of trying to fill up my soul with “things”.  Too often I buy what I don’t need, shop to sooth myself, and want more, newer and better. 

I never met the people that live in that house that awed me.  I really don’t know what kind of people they are.  I hope that I am wrong about what appearances seemed to say.  What I saw appeared to be evidence of what is all too common in too many people, a vain effort to fill a void with things.  The attempt to satisfy with the material never brings contentment or wholeness.  It leaves the pursuer with emptiness and dissatisfaction.  What so many do not realize is that because we are spiritual beings only the spiritual can truly fill us.  Things, while they are nice, cannot provide security, love, or peace.  God knew this.  He warned us from the beginning about the need to feed and fill ourselves with his Word.  Jesus teaches us that things will never satisfy and will never be enough.  He teaches us that the way to become great is be the least, that serving brings significance, and that joy and contentment can be ours apart from what we have.   

Stuff will never be enough.   More is not better.  My sweet dog, Sally, is an animal and incapable of understanding these principles.  We are not.

Philippians 4:11  ….for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 

Ecclesiastes 5:10-11 Those who love money will never have enough.  How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!  The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it.  So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!