I experience peace when I remember the word “enough.” Without practicing the concept of “enough,” contentment remains elusive and I am ever striving for something more.
Stop Moving the Finish Line
In The Psychology of Money, Morgan Housel names a key barrier to peace: our appetite for more. We never have enough. Our focus is on how to get just a little bit more rather than to sit back and be satisfied.
We play the social comparison game and have envy of what others have. We can never be satisfied because there is always someone who has more. Something better. And we can attain it if we strive for it. We find another finish line to chase after, like a never-ending race.1
Housel is referring to how our socially-conditioned envy drives us to make unwise sacrifices in the pursuit of more money. Unfortunately, money is far from our only pursuit for more. We seek more friends. More likes. More vacation. More time for ourselves. More running shoes. Our pursuit for more is not wrong in and of itself. The issue is that we are unable to say the word “enough.” Think about this in terms of our daily life experiences. How often do we express contentment? How often do we qualify our experiences with the word “but”?
It was a nice day, but it was windy. I arrived safely, but the number of red lights was ridiculous. I loved worshipping together today, but the sanctuary felt empty.
Book of Joshua
When I think of the Book of Joshua, I usually think about “be strong and courageous” or “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” I am starting to think more about the concept of enough.
Towards the end of the book, the allotment of land to the tribes of Israel is recorded. The allotment in chapter 17 is noteworthy. In 17:12, we are told that “the people of Manasseh could not take possession of those cities, but the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in the land.” (ESV) The people of Israel did not drive out the people they were empowered to remove. They did not follow through where they had agency, or the capacity to shape an outcome.
Then, in 17:14, the “people of Joseph,” which includes Manasseh, “spoke to Joshua saying, ‘Why have you given me but one lot and one portion as an inheritance, although I am a numerous people, since all along the Lord has blessed me?’” (ESV) Amazing. We are just told that Manasseh did not follow through on what they were called to do, and then they turn around and complain about what they do not have enough of.
Simply put, they perceived that smaller tribes had more land per capita than they did. They wanted more. They did not have enough because someone else had more. Their focus was no longer on what they had direct agency over, but something that they could complain about. Their complaints were less than accurate. Manasseh’s land allotment was actually second only to Judah’s.2 They saw that someone else had more. They assumed that everyone had more than they had. They moved their goal posts. Yet, they ignored their call to take care of what was under their control.
Resting in Enough
I am not much different than Manasseh. I have an appetite for more because I see, or at least perceive, that others have something better. I lack peace due to a never-ending craving for more.
Our weekly rhythm of rest is a key to knowing enough. Experiencing peace. When we stop to rest each week we acknowledge our trust of God. Our drive for more, our push to control more things, is set aside. We are reminded of our tendency to move the finish line and never be satisfied. We are given a taste of our “eternal enough” through resting in community each week.
To know peace more fully, I need to use the word “enough” a lot more. A weekly reminder of “enough” is a rich blessing indeed.
1 Housel, Morgan. 2020. The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness. UK: Harriman House. See Chapter 3: “Never Enough.”
2 NIV Study Bible. 2011. Footnote references.
