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Dave [Letterman] makes a lot more than I do. Way more. And I’m number one. But that’s okay. How much pie can you eat?
—Jay Leno
Of all the things to hit home with thoughts I’ve been thinking recently, a Jay Leno quote was not what I expected, yet here we are.
I’ve been rather overtaken with a question of late, “How much is enough?” How do I define what most dictionaries call “an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose; adequate; sufficient for the purpose”? What is that for me and for my family? What’s the cut off? The baseline?
The church staff subculture makes much of the “negotiating your pay cut” thing transitioning from marketplace jobs to ministry jobs, but in relation to the rest of the world that’s like saying someone went from “rich” to “oh, wait, yep, still rich.” Sure, I took a paycut, but I bet I still make more money than 90% of the world does. You probably do, too.
And isn’t that enough? Or more than enough? If it isn’t, maybe I actually need to discipline my appetite instead of trying to get more. I mean, how much pie can you eat?
I like to call it rich people problems. “Oh my AC went out – one of my THREE”. Yeah, rich people problems. Great post.
said Brad
at 10:21pm on Tuesday
This is a difficult discussion. You’re leaning on the term “adequate,” which isn’t a bad thing, but to play the devil’s advocate, adequate is a relative term. And yes, on a strictly monetary measuring scale — $1 = $1 — yes, we all make more than 90% of the world, but why do I never see cost of living corrections to get a more accurate depiction of wealth? And, to be honest, I’m pretty sure that even with that adjustment we as Americans still make more than 90% of the world.
But, one thing I struggle with is why is it wrong to want a better life? Who are you, or I, or anyone, to tell someone what is too much for them? If they’re gaining their wealth through ethical and legal means (and that is an assumption I think we all have to set as a standard for sake of argumentation), what right do anyone of us have to say someone has to stop earning more for them and their family? Should they stop complaining when they can only afford 10 Hummers and not 15? Probably. But I don’t see where it’s Biblically wrong to possess wealth. Having worked in a church and seen a lot of the numbers, tithing is much like the tax base of America. I’d love real numbers, and if my memory serves me correct, isn’t it something like 80% of tithes are from 20% of the people?
Money isn’t a bad thing, the LOVE of money is a bad thing. I would love to make more of it, not because I love seeing the numbers get bigger on my bank statements, but because I know I can do so much more for so many more people with more of it.
I like the phrase “how much more pie can you eat,” but it does a logical disservice in assuming that there is only one kind of pie, and that you can only attain that one pie multiple times. Without the realization that there are better types of pie, you don’t get a clear picture.
said Aaron
at 8:41am on Wednesday