Wanting less

An amazing man said:

God, help me to want less, because you have already given me everything I need.

Yeah, that's my husband. I am grateful every day that God brought us together and gave us our little girl. It's easy to forget the simple things in our day-to-day lives and get caught up in the "stuff" in our lives. Money may be what drives our world today, but it certainly doesn't bring happiness. True happiness comes from within ourselves, our God (or whatever your higher power may be) and our loved ones.

Our marriage devotion for yesterday was called, "Beware of Blessings?" and I just wanted to share part of it. After discussing the simplicity of life in the 1800s, Barbara Rainey writes:

But is living in the twenty-first century the only reason why our loves are so cluttered with lessons, parties, activities, trips, classes, events and meetings? No. We live this way because we can--and because we choose to. Because we're prosperous enough to do so. That's the only explanation why we work countless hours earning money to spend on countless things we don't really need.

Prosperity is a blessing from God; His Word makes that clear. But He also makes it clear that prosperity can kill us, because abundance brings with it the very real danger that we will forget God, the true source of it all. Thomas Carlyle said, "For every one hundred people who can handle adversity, I can only show you one who can handle prosperity." Adversity reduces our choices and many times crystallizes our priorities. Prosperity, however, increases our options and activity. Stress soon follows!

Always be wary of prosperity and what it's capable of doing in you. Commit to the daily exercise of remembering who you belong to and why you have anything.

This expat experience put us in a culture that does not value materialism in the same way the American society does. It's a breath of fresh air to see people walking around with broad smiles on their face, despite not having a lot of money, the newest gadgets, the best clothing or the fanciest car. We can all benefit from the little reminders in our lives that money and stuff cannot bring true happiness into our lives.

Look above and within. When you strip away all of your money and your belongings, what's left? That is what truly matters in life.