Presented by Lauren Stibgen
Abundance means having a very large quantity or supply of something, more than enough, or overflowing fullness. Let’s make this tangible. How many times have you turned this definition into something you wanted more of? Or maybe you perceived if you had more of a thing your life would be better?
Have you ever caught yourself thinking if I only had X amount more money, I could do Y with it? Or I wish I had a new car! A bigger house. Or maybe you really want to go on that great vacation or buy a new handbag. Social media has really fueled this culture of comparison making things seem like needs as opposed to wants.
We live in a world that largely spends more than it makes. According to debt.org, 90% of American households hold debt that totals the staggering amount of $18.2 trillion dollars. And, statistically, the more education someone has directly correlates with the amount of debt they hold. The average debt for someone with a high school diploma is $50,401 verses someone with an undergraduate degree at $115,456. Most of the debt is a mortgage, followed by auto loans, school debt, and credit cards.
Roughly 44-57% of working Americans earning greater than $60,000 annually hold credit card debt. With delinquencies in all categories rising, 39% of women say their debt is unmanageable.
But how did we get here? While economic implications are surely a factor in our borrow-now-pay-later society, we need to look at the heart implications of our increasing need for more.
Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless (Ecclesiastes 5:10).
We possess what we think we need and then simply want more. Are you jealous of something someone else has? Are you coveting a relationship? Maybe you feel like having something will earn you status or entry into another social group.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s (Exodus 20:17).
Coveting is to desire something belonging to someone else—something you are craving that is not yours. This can be a possession or even a relationship. When did this start for you?
Far before I knew Jesus, I certainly knew what Air Jordan shoes were. Growing up in an affluent area, I was the kid who took the city bus and had clothes from a big box store. We certainly could not afford those shoes. Feelings of shame and embarrassment were common as I could not keep up with other kids because of how I was dressed. What did my parents do for Christmas? They borrowed. They bought me a few pieces they shouldn’t have.
I not only coveted what the other kids had but wanted the relationships too. My relationship with borrowing started before I could do it myself and then came college and credit cards. Borrowing to get ahead. Some of the borrowing like school loans propelled me forward, but some of the credit for things I coveted put me in debt.
Have you ever heard someone say everyone has a God-sized hole in their heart? That is because all the money, possessions, and friendships we want more of can never give us more abundance than the love of our Lord through his son Jesus Christ. Those clothes may have made me more popular and gained me a few friends, but they never filled this hole.
The only thing that can give us true abundance is Jesus. As we talk about this holy abundance, let’s consider the pitfalls of seeking worldly abundance. I want to stress I am not suggesting a life of poverty, but when is enough, enough?
Having an abundance of worldly things makes it difficult to experience the filling of that God-sized hole in your heart through Jesus. God’s Word is clear.
