Just A Little Bit More Series

Introduction:

A. In Calvin Miller’s book Requiem for Love, he begins a chapter with the words: A beggar asked a millionaire, “How many more dollars would it take to make you truly happy?”

1. The millionaire, reaching his gnarled hands into the beggar’s cup replied, “Only one more!”

2. This is the trap of greed that promises that we will be content if we had just a little bit more.

3. Once there was an employee on strike who held a sign on the picket line that read: “Time heals all wounds. Time and a half heals them faster.”

4. George Bernard Shaw, the Irish playwright, said: “The lack of money is the root of all evil, not the love of it.”

5. And Oscar Widle, the Irish poet and playwright, said: “When I was young, I used to think that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am older, I know that it is!”

6. The apostle Paul had a very different view of money and contentment, and today we will explore what Paul wrote to Timothy about money, greed and contentment.

7. Before we get into what Paul wrote, let’s think about our experience here in our country with money and materialism.

B. If you or I were to go to a counselor complaining of depression, anxiety, a sense of emptiness, uncontrollable headaches, and ulcers, what do you think he or she would say to us?

1. One thing that he or she probably wouldn’t say to us is: “I think a lot of your problem is greed and materialism.”

2. In our culture, greed and materialism aren’t considered “problems” and yet they are the cause of much of our discontentment and the problems that follow – depression, anxiety, emptiness, marriage and family breakdowns, etc.

3. Tragically, Americans are, for the most part, discontent, materialistic, and selfish.

4. Sadly, that is not just true of Americans in general, it can also be true of some of us Christian Americans as well.

C. If I were to ask you if you: “How content are you with what you have?” how would you respond?

1. If I were to ask you: “Are you materialistic or greedy?” then how might you answer?

2. I think most of us would say, “I’m not materialistic or greedy.”

3. What are some signs that we might struggle with contentment or materialism more than we think?

4. One sign is that Americans’ total credit card debt in the second quarter of 2022 is $887 billion.

a. The percentage of American cardholders who carry a balance month to month is 54%.

b. The national average card debt among cardholders with unpaid balances is $6,569.

5. An article from December of last year, stated that most American homeowners are “house poor” which means that their mortgage costs so much that they don’t have enough money left over for other necessary expenses, including home repairs which leads to higher credit card balances.

6. We all know that home ownership is expensive, but so are rent payments.

a. But when we are looking at buying a home or renting something, we tend to extend ourselves as far as we can rather than settling for something more affordable.

b. We have to ask ourselves, “Why buy a $500,000 house, or a $350,000 house, when a $200,000 one would meet our needs?”

7. And the same kinds of questions can be asked when purchasing cars.

a. What is causing my discontentment with the car I have?

b. If I need to replace my old car, why do I feel the need to get the lastest and greatest?

c. Why buy a $60,000 car, or a 40,000 car when a $20,000 car would be fine?

d. A July 2022 report showed that the average price of a new car topped $48,000, and the average car payment is $700 a month.

8. The sad reality of greed and materialism is that no matter how low or high our income is, we can outspend our income and end up in financial and crisis.

D. Another thing about our culture that makes it hard on us to be content is the way the advertising machine of our culture bombards us with daily with products and services that are guaranteed to make our lives better and more fulfilling.

1. Advertisers make their living creating discontentment in the lives of the masses so that we will spend more money.

2. We are taught the lie that we are just one more purchase away from happiness and we are only one more pay-raise away from financial security.

3. We think, “If I can have just a little bit more, then I won’t want any more.” But that is a lie.

4. We are like the child that promises their parent: “If you just buy this one thing for me, I will never ask for anything else ever again.”