How to Quench Your Thirst for More

    I grew up hunting with my dad, who grew up hunting with his dad, and the tradition went back generations. So for Christmas when I was 12 I received my first real gun. I had already taken the hunter’s safety course, had lots of practice with BB guns and a pellet gun, as well as plenty of practice shooting times and lessons from my dad using his guns. But this was special. This was a real shot gun that I could use for duck and pheasant hunting, and it was all mine.

My dad bought it used and repaired and refurbished it himself. It was a single shot 16 gauge that was about fifty-years-old and it looked like a million bucks (I still have it today). It was one of those Christmas gifts that I couldn’t wait to tell my friends about. I called up one of my buddies who shared my passion for the outdoors, but before I could get it out, he told me about the brand new Remington 20 gauge pump 870 that he had opened the night before. I went from loving what I had, to feeling left out. I didn’t even bother telling my friend about my new gun. Just that quick, it wasn’t good enough.
    Let’s face it. Getting what we want is only fun for a while. As soon as we look around and see what we don’t have, and compare our stuff with those who have more, the enjoyment of things turns into a lust for more. The iPhone 4s isn’t all that cool anymore not with the new 5. The new car you bought last year that has now been replaced with whatever is the latest or most updated version no longer gives you that zing as you climb into it. The thirst for whatever is newer and better destroys our appreciation of what we have and sucks the enjoyment out of life. We get and get and get but it’s never enough.
    So what’s the antidote? It’s twofold: gratitude and generosity. Forcing ourselves to focus on what we have and verbalizing our gratitude to and for others breaks the power of greed. It also leads to generosity. And the very act of letting go of what we would rather stockpile (of course–in order to get more) changes our hearts and moves us to a new level of appreciation for how we’ve been blessed. Those who are truly generous and purposely grateful are not only happier than those who are greedy, they actually wind up being blessed in greater ways, materially and spiritually, mainly because they are not burdened by the never-ending craving for more. Together, gratitude and generosity breaks the power of greed, and produces genuine enjoyment of what we do have.
    So forget about what is newer and better and what others have that you do not. Sit down and list out what you do have. Spend a few minutes verbalizing your gratitude to God and then to the people in your life who are important to you. And figure out ways that you can share what you have for God’s work and other people. You just might find that the things that used to cause so much anxiety can actually become the blessing you once thought they could be. Be grateful and give. That’s a two-fold sure-fire way to joy.
    “Remember the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” – Acts 20:35