“I’m rich enough—a phrase on the verge of extinction.”

A thought by Max Lucado (2011-05-02) from his book, Cure for the Common Life (p. 42). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

I know, that thought probably won’t stop a lot of people to see what it means as much as the thought, I’m not rich enough – I need more but it is a very good thought. 

Max says, “We love to super-size our french fries, television screens, and closets—and I’ve wondered what my dad would say about my penchant for $3.45 lattes.”

He goes on, “A businessman bought popcorn from an old street vendor each day after lunch. He once arrived to find the peddler closing up his stand at noon. ‘Is something wrong?’ he asked. A smile wrinkled the seller’s leathery face. ‘By no means. All is well.’ ‘Then why are you closing your popcorn stand?’  ‘So I can go to my house, sit on my porch, and sip tea with my wife.’ The man of commerce objected. ‘But the day is still young. You can still sell.’  ‘No need to,’ the stand owner replied. ‘I’ve made enough money for today.’  ‘Enough? Absurd. You should keep working.’ The spry old man stopped and stared at his well-dressed visitor. ‘And why should I keep working?’  ‘To sell more popcorn.’ ‘And why sell more popcorn?’  ‘Because the more popcorn you sell, the more money you make. The more money you make, the richer you are. The richer you are, the more popcorn stands you can buy. The more popcorn stands you buy, the more peddlers sell your product, and the richer you become. And when you have enough, you can stop working, sell your popcorn stands, stay home, and sit on the porch with your wife and drink tea.’ The popcorn man smiled. ‘I can do that today. I guess I have enough.’”

Max ends this chapter on greed by saying, “Success is not defined by position or pay scale but by this: doing the most what you do the best. Parents, give that counsel to your kids. Tell them to do what they love to do so well that someone pays them to do it. Spouses, urge your mate to choose satisfaction over salary. Better to be married to a happy person who has a thin wallet than a miserable person with a thick one. Besides, ‘a pretentious, showy life is an empty life; a plain and simple life is a full life’ (Prov. 13:7 MSG). Pursue the virtue of contentment. ‘Godliness with contentment is great gain’ (1 Tim. 6:6 NIV).  When choosing or changing jobs, be careful. Consult your design. Consult your Designer. But never consult your greed.”

That is very good advice.  So how content are you?