But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 1 Timothy 6:8
“Be satisfied with what is sufficient. Any more than that is burdensome and does not bring relief. It will weigh you down and not support you.”
Augustine of Hippo in Sermon 85.6
Hear Augustine’s words again: “Be satisfied with what is sufficient.” If we follow the desires of our flesh, we never have enough. But in the Spirit we realize that if we have Christ and basic needs met, we have everything we have ever needed and will ever need.
Notice he adds that having more is actually a burden and not a blessing. It does not bring the relief it promises. It only brings more worries. It weighs us down, as Augustine adds and does not support us.
So as you take inventory, approaching the season of Thanksgiving in USA, please give thanks for God’s material blessings, keep what is sufficient, and share generously lest your surplus turn from being a blessing to being burdensome.
This thinking aims not to rob readers but help them take hold of life. Avoid being unnecessarily weighed down, and rightly locate satisfaction in the only place possible.