Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Recently, I attended a Christianity conference on Biblical stewardship and entrepreneurship.
One of the speakers said something that really struck me.
He challenged us to determine our “number.”
How many cars do you need?
How many properties do you need?
How much savings do you need?
How much is enough for you and your family to live responsibly?
His point was simple: once you have reached your “number,” what will you do with the rest?
Will you continue accumulating simply because you can?
Or will you begin giving more generously?
That question made me think.
I would rephrase it slightly:
What’s enough for you?
This may be one of the most important questions we need to ask ourselves when it comes to money.
The problem is that “enough” keeps moving
For many people, there is no number.
When they have one car, they want two.
When they have two properties, they think about the third.
When they have $1 million in savings, they want $2 million.
When they reach $2 million, somehow $3 million suddenly becomes the new target.
And when they reach $3 million, they discover that they are still not satisfied.
The goalpost keeps moving.
The Bible warns us about this very problem.
“Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.”
— Ecclesiastes 5:10 NIV
Notice the issue is not simply how much money a person has.
The issue is whether money has become something that can never satisfy.
Jesus also warned:
“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
— Luke 12:15 NIV
This is particularly relevant in a society where success can easily be measured by what we own.
What if we defined “enough”?
In my journey of advocating Biblical financial stewardship, I have sometimes found it difficult to convince people to give more.
Perhaps I have been looking at the issue from the wrong angle.
Perhaps before asking someone to give more, I should first ask:
What’s enough for you?
How many cars do you really need?
How big a home do you really need?
How many properties do you really need?
How much savings do you need for your family's responsibilities?
How much do you need for your children's education?
How much do you need for retirement?
How much do you need to provide for your dependants?
There is nothing inherently wrong with planning for these things.
The Bible encourages wisdom and preparation.
“The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”
— Proverbs 21:5 NIV
And:
“Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
— 1 Timothy 5:8 NIV
So Biblical stewardship is not about irresponsibly giving everything away and leaving our families without provision.
It is about knowing when enough is enough.
Perhaps generosity begins with defining enough
There is an interesting observation about giving.
Some studies have suggested that Christians' charitable giving can be around only 2% of income, far below the traditional Biblical benchmark of 10%.
Whatever figure we use, the bigger question is this:
Why do we find it so difficult to give?
Perhaps one reason is that many of us feel we have not accumulated enough.
We are still pursuing the next car.
The next property.
The next investment.
The next million.
The next upgrade.
The next level of lifestyle.
So we tell ourselves:
“I will give more when I have enough.”
But what if “enough” never comes?
Then giving is continually postponed.
And perhaps this explains why some people can earn more and more, yet remain just as reluctant to give.
They have increased their income, but they have also increased their definition of what they need.
But what if we actually reach our number?
Imagine someone says:
“I have enough cars.”
“I have enough property.”
“I have sufficient savings.”
“My family is provided for.”
“My retirement is adequately planned.”
“I have sufficient resources for the responsibilities God has given me.”
Then what?
Perhaps that is where Biblical generosity becomes much easier.
Instead of asking:
“How much more can I accumulate?”
we can begin asking:
“How much more can I bless?”
This is a completely different mindset.
The question changes from consumption to contribution.
From accumulation to stewardship.
From “What can I get?” to “What can God do through what He has entrusted to me?”
Paul gives us a beautiful principle:
“You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion.”
— 2 Corinthians 9:11 NIV
Notice that God's blessing is not presented merely as an opportunity for us to become richer.
We are blessed so that we can be generous.
But there is another danger
What if someone never reaches “enough”?
What if the number keeps increasing forever?
Then perhaps the real problem is not that the person has not accumulated enough.
Perhaps the problem is that his definition of enough is too high.
There will always be another car.
Another house.
Another investment.
Another watch.
Another holiday.
Another lifestyle upgrade.
Another financial target.
And if we spend our entire lives chasing these things, we may eventually discover that we have spent our lives accumulating possessions that we cannot take with us.
Jesus told a powerful story about exactly this.
A rich man had an exceptionally productive harvest. He decided to tear down his barns and build bigger ones so that he could store even more.
Then he said to himself:
“You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”
— Luke 12:19 NIV
But God said to him:
“You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you.”
— Luke 12:20 NIV
The tragedy was not that the man was successful.
The tragedy was that he prepared for a long earthly future but failed to prepare for eternity.
Jesus concluded:
“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
— Luke 12:21 NIV
That is a sobering statement.
Happiness is not the same as joy
We can acquire more possessions and experience temporary happiness.
A new car can make us happy.
A new property can make us happy.
A bigger bank balance can make us feel secure.
A luxury purchase can give us pleasure.
But these things cannot give us the joy that comes from knowing God and living according to His purposes.
There is a difference between enjoying God's blessings and being controlled by them.
The issue is not whether we own possessions.
The question is whether our possessions own us.
Paul writes:
“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”
— Hebrews 13:5 NIV
Contentment is powerful because it allows us to say:
“I have enough.”
And once we can genuinely say, “I have enough,” we become much freer to say:
“I can give the rest.”
So, what is your number?
Perhaps every one of us should prayerfully determine our own “number.”
Not because the Bible gives us a universal dollar amount.
It doesn't.
But because we need to examine our hearts.
How much is enough for our family?
How much is enough for our responsibilities?
How much is enough for a reasonable standard of living?
How much is enough for our future needs?
And after that, perhaps we should ask an even more important question:
“Lord, what would You have me do with everything beyond that?”
Maybe it should go towards God's Kingdom.
Maybe it should help someone struggling with debt.
Maybe it should support a missionary.
Maybe it should help a needy family.
Maybe it should fund a ministry.
Maybe it should support education.
Maybe it should be given to someone who desperately needs a second chance.
Maybe it should simply be given away quietly, without our name being attached to it.
Jesus said:
“It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
— Acts 20:35 NIV
Perhaps the greatest financial breakthrough in our lives is not when we finally accumulate enough.
Perhaps it is when we finally become content enough to give.
The final question
One day, we will stand before Jesus.
We will not be able to bring our cars.
We will not be able to bring our properties.
We will not be able to bring our bank accounts.
We will not be able to bring our investments, watches, bags or possessions.
What we have accumulated on earth will remain here.
But what we have done with what God entrusted to us will matter.
Jesus said:
“Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
— Matthew 6:20 NIV
So perhaps the question is not simply:
“How much can I accumulate?”
Perhaps the better question is:
“How much is enough for me to live responsibly, and how much can I release for God's purposes?”
Because if we never define “enough,” we may spend our entire lives chasing more.
And one day, when we finally meet Jesus, we may discover that we had spent so much time accumulating things we could not take with us that we neglected the things we could have invested in for eternity.
What’s enough for you?
Perhaps it is time for each of us to prayerfully find our answer.
And then, instead of asking, “What more can I get?”
we can begin asking:
“What more can I give?”
Blessings,
David Poh
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