Walking with the Wise #213: When Less Is More

“Better is a dinner of herbs where love is
than a fattened ox and hatred with it.”
—Proverbs 15:17

I know a man who is pretty wealthy. God has blessed him financially. He has a very spacious and nice home with some pretty fancy cars, but he is a single man with no children. I, on the other hand, am not wealthy financially (according to western standards), but I am married to the most wonderful woman I know and have three very beautiful (and rambunctious) kids. I don’t own my home, nor do I have fancy cars, but I am grateful for everything I have. A few years ago, this man and I were talking, and I was lamenting my financial situation at the time (which was pretty bad because I just finished school), to which he responded, “You are the wealthiest man I know.” Now, I was going to say the same thing to him, but I realized we counted wealth differently. For myself, I was looking at wealth from a financial perspective, but he was looking at wealth from the perspective of family.

I’ve often thought back to that conversation and realized that he was right—I am wealthy, more than I ever truly knew. My life is a practical outworking of today’s proverb—better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a fattened ox and hatred with it. I may not have much, but I have love in my home. My friend has a fattened ox and while there is no hatred in his home, there are many like him, where money is in abundance, but hate is multiplied exponentially.

I have never heard anyone at the end of their life wish that they would have made more money or spent more time at the office. On the contrary, their wish is to go back and spend more time with their loved ones. Love is more valuable than anything money could ever buy.

As a Jesus follower, we must take our eyes off of others, learning to be content with what God has given us, abandoning any of the world’s ideas of what success truly is. Jesus sets forth a whole new way of living—loving our enemies, doing good to those who wish us harm, serving to rule, giving to get, and dying to live. We must make every effort to redefine and purify our pursuits, making sure to place them in line with the plan and purposes of God. It’s not about what we gain, but what we give away.

Let our lives exemplify the truth of finding our satisfaction in our Savior, not our stuff. May we be satisfied with the little we have as love permeates our home. Let us cultivate contentment, and eliminate envy, understanding that love means more than anything this world could ever buy. Amen.