“Rich folks” have been known to say, “I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor; rich is better.”
I agree…as long as we know what “rich” means.
The Apostle Paul said, “I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor; and I’ve learned that I can be content no matter how much or how little money or stuff I have” (my paraphrase). The content person knows that, “I won’t be any happier or more fulfilled whether I have more stuff or less stuff, whether I have much money or little money. I am content because of Christ.”
Yet there don’t seem to be too many of those folks around who believe they can be happy with what they have; they always think happiness is just “a little bit more.”
Not surprisingly, money is still the number one fight starter in marriage. It is not the main reason folks get divorced; that is a very commonly held cultural myth. Money is the main issue that starts marital arguments, but the breakup comes because of how they treat each other while they are fighting about money.
And lately I have been talking to many folks who have put these two thoughts together: they fight daily about money and they both think they would somehow be happier and get along better if they just made more money. It doesn’t matter if they’re making $50,000 or $500,000, they just want a little bit more. It doesn’t matter if it’s a $10 item, a $100 item, or a $100,000 item, they don’t think they should have to talk to their spouse before spending the money. And, of course, it doesn’t even matter whether or not they can afford it; they just want it. It doesn’t matter, in short, that they have a mate that they’ve promised to love and cherish, they want to spend and buy want they want, when they want, and how they want, even as it takes them all the way to divorce court.
Does money matter? Sure. But do you know what matters more than money to your overall physical and emotional health? It’s your marriage. And do you know that research has continually demonstrated that “just a little more money” is not the key to your marital or individual happiness? Instead, it’s more love. It’s learning to manage money and love your spouse.
It’s learning to realize that I have everything I need in Christ. It’s learning that I need to take myself less seriously and take God and my marriage more seriously. It’s knowing that a little bit more stuff is not the key, but a little bit more love. It’s choosing the only path to true happiness.
It’s learning to be content with what you have.
It’s learning to lighten up.