Content With Enough

Our chapel speaker for MLK Day, Bryan Loritts, was far more than just a talented speaker. He had some amazing things to say about caring for the poor and needy, but he really struck a chord with me when he upturned the American capitalistic system of making money and maxing out our lifestyle so that we have no money to give away. In this except from chapel, he tells a story of John Wesley:

John Wesley, when he was a student at Oxford, he sat down and looked down at his finances and says "How much money do I need to live off of?" He says, "I only need to live off of 28 pounds." That first year, he gets 30 pounds, lives off of the 28 pounds, gives the other two pounds away. When he graduates from Oxford, he says, "Look, I'm still gonna do the same thing. I'm only going to live off of 28 pounds. Anything I get over that I'm going to give away." In his lifetime, you study John Wesley, he made a lot of money with the publication of some of his writings and works, but he says "28 pounds is enough for me. Anything I get over that, I'm giving it away."

These powerful words made me ask myself, "Is 28 pounds enough for me?" Do I define "enough" by how much I make, or by how much I need? Am I so dependent on myself that I need all this money, or should I be dependent on God to provide for me? Am I content with enough?