ENOUGH?
SO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH IT?

Do you know how to be content with enough?

A STORY FROM REAL LIFE BY SOMEONE WHO HEARD THE FOLLOWING:

"I WISH YOU ENOUGH"

Recently, I overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport as the daughter's departure had been announced. Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the mother said:

"I love you and I wish you enough."

The daughter replied, "Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Mom." They kissed and the daughter left.

The mother walked over to the window where I sat. Standing there, I could see she wanted and needed to cry.

I tried not to intrude on her privacy but she welcomed me in by asking, "Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?"

"Yes, I have," I replied. "Forgive me for asking but why is this a forever good-bye?"

"I am old and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is the next trip back will be for my funeral," she said.

"When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough.' May I ask what that means?"

She began to smile. "That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone." She paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail and she smiled even more.

"When we said 'I wish you enough' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them". Then turning toward me, she shared the following, reciting it from memory,

"I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye."

She then began to cry and walked away.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person. An hour to appreciate them. A day to love them. And an entire life to forget them.

- Author Unknown

WHY IS "ENOUGH" CONSIDERED TO BE RADICALISM TODAY?

First, you who claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ should realize that the high and mighty HATE to have enough, and they may crucify anyone who teaches that ENOUGH is the preferred way to live. The Pharisees were enraged that a poor carpenter from Nazareth, a city the Jews looked down on, would come in poor attire and confront their kingdom of wealth and influence.
The Apostle Paul was writing a letter to the church in Corinth and letting them know he would be around soon to receive their gifts for the poor saints in Jerusalem, for which other churches has started a relief fund. Here is Paul using Jesus as the divine ideal in teaching charity:
2 Corinthians 8:7 Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.
8 I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love.
9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
10 And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago.
11 Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have.
12 For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.
13 For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened:
14 But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality:
The very subtle implication by Paul is that to withhold charity to the poor saints down the road would be a denial of the life of Jesus Christ, who was our example. Do YOU see it that way? If not, is it possibly because you withhold charity from the saints around you who you know very well are in need? Do you encourage them to visit food closets instead of your pantry? Do you prefer to send hungry people to the government, rather than help them yourself?
“The luxuries of civilization satisfy only those wants which they themselves create"
Raymond Priestly 1902
Antarctica
Scott Expedition
Example:
You inherit an estate.
It has a 25 room mansion and sits on 150 acres.
Now, you must find more luxuries created by the estate. You now need a maid, grounds keeper, and maybe even a game keeper.
It is a bit frustrating to realize the poor people are more likely to help other poor people than for the rich to help them. I have watched this all my life. As a missionary kid I was dragged all over America by my parents when they were missionaries under two "faith missions." The rule was that they were NOT allowed to mention their financial needs unless directly asked what they were. I cannot tell you how many times some poor widow would walk up to Dad and hand him a gift while some rich deacon walked by "on the other side."
A farmer in Oklahoma who was just making ends meet pledged my parents an amount of support every month. I learned to pray for him since my parents prayer regularly for their supporters. But, I prayed more zealously after we were on furlough in 1959. After a very personal visit to his farm and his home church, we were driving away from the farm, and my Dad said, "Stevie, look at that car brother ___________ is driving." It was an old Oldsmobile. Dad asked me if I knew how old it was. Then Dad explained that every other farmer in the area who was doing as well as brother _________ would have bought a new car by now. Dad then said, "He has to drive that old car because he will not drop our support for anything." After that, when we had family prayer, I remember that I was very moved, though I was a kid with pretty shallow thoughts at times. Dad prayed for that farmer, that is, that God would prosper him. I also recall Dad thanking the Lord for those who gave "sacrificially." I learned the meaning of sacrifice from people who put my food on the table and may have not eaten as well as I did.
James 2:1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?
8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
I now offer a study done by University of California at Berkeley researchers. You may think, "What would they every get right, those flaming Liberals?" Think again. They went overboard to try to avoid this, and I think this research is absolutely terrifying. It shows how America has become a nation of very greedy people with little or no compassion UNLESS you are talking about very poor people.
So, how many times have you said something like this, "Those Blacks in the ghetto need to just get off their duff and get a job?" Or, "That guy living under the bridge is probably asking for money just so he can buy pot." These are the mindless accusations which people who are prospering make at the poor to justify their own lack of compassion. No, let's tell it right..... to justify their GREED. Has it ever occurred to you that your Savior, if he really IS your Savior, lived like this?
Matthew 8:20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
What a loser, right? And he lived like a loser for YOUR sake, not because he was lazy and eager to stay dependent on other people.

QUESTION TIME:

There is a kid in a shopping cart being pushed by his Mom in the supermarket. The kid, rather politely, asks, "Mommy, can I have some of that chocolate milk mix?" Mom says, "Maybe next time Billy." The shopping cart is full of carbohydrates and wieners, no steak, and not even chicken. You have a ten dollar bill in your wallet, mister. Have you got any idea what a rush that kid will get when you take the chocolate milk mix off the shelf, and hand it to him with the ten dollar bill. Now, some of you Scrooges will tell me the mother will probably tell you, "Oh, please don't do that, we don't need help sir." There is a VERY easy way to deal with that up front. When you hand the things to the kid, simply say, "This is from Jesus to you fella. God told me to give you this because he loves you."
Sound flaky, right? I have done this, and it works every time. I have never dealt with an Atheist at these moments, but everyone else does not have the nerve to tell their kid they cannot accept chocolate milk mix from God. In the end, the kid is smiling, Mom is nearly crying, and you will feel like I got back a million to one for your investment. Rich people do not do this because their wealth has rotted his souls beyond mercy.
James 5:1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
All stingy people do NOT believe they are rich, not matter how much they have. They do not ever feel they have ENOUGH, which is what we are talking about in this discussion really. The moment before you saw the guy on the corner with the sign asking for work, food, or cash, you were feeling good about life. As soon as you saw his sign, did you suddenly feel you were lacking in finances too much to help out? You CREEP! Damn your filthy riches.
“There is not a man of us who does not at times need a helping hand to be stretched out to him, and then shame upon him who will not stretch out the helping hand to his brother.” ?
Theodore Roosevelt
It is time for a reformation in the soul, my friend. Every one of us who name Christ as Savior need to consider our attitude toward the needy and poor. And, they do not have to be laying in the gutter starving.
Have you ever known a brother who was out of work who usually made good money. He is barely making it now, and you know it. Did it every occur to you what he and his wife and kids are NOT doing these days, like going out to eat, or buying steaks? You could easily take the whole family to dinner and still have ENOUGH. You could hand him some money, and tell him, "Fred, this is for you and Tammy to go out to dinner. The wife and I will baby sit for you. We'll take them to Sonic for malts if that's OK."
If you cannot understand what I am talking about, you are in DEEP trouble my friend. There have been very few times I felt as good as I have after doing something merciful in a spontaneous moment. By the way, if you give so much in the offering plate at the church house that you cannot afford to give a few bucks to the guy under the bridge, you are giving too much at the church house. Shut up, preacher-- you guys are the worst at being unmerciful.
Finally, DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THIS?
Acts 20:35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
If you do not LIVE by that teaching, you may not be born again. It is the Jesus you claim to love who ORDERED you to give. You cannot be so unlike Jesus and Paul and belong to the Kingdom of Heaven.

SO, YOU MAY WONDER WHAT TO DO?

It is very simple. As much as Jesus Christ loves the poor, needy, and downtrodden, all you need to do is have a little discussion about this thing with your Lord. Ask him to make you alert to needy people, and every time you go out the door, designate a ten or twenty spot for somebody Jesus wants to help through you. I promise you, the Lord will bring someone along when you least expect it. Just be sure they understand that Jesus is giving them the gift so you do not get the credit.
Hey, are you already calculating some person you would rather give to because of some advantage or some connection that will be improved. I AM TALKING ABUT THE WIDOW, THE STRANGER, AND THE ORPHAN. I suspect that is terribly revolutionary to some of you reading here. Read this.....
Jeremiah 22:3 Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
Refusing to help the widow, stranger, and orphan is right next to murder.
Now, if the only person you happen to run into does not look needy, simply pick some random older person in a restaurant and pay their bill secretly. Ask the waitress to tell them that someone paid their bill because they had more cash than they needed that day, or tell them God sponsored their dinner. If you do this for a prosperous looking person, you might jolt a mindless rich man into reality who will do the same later. Feeling good and generous is an infection that God loves. He started it.

INSPIRATION TO AWAKEN YOUR IMAGINATION-- ENJOY

OK, preacher, you can sluff it off as affect and display etc, so how
about taking your board of elders and deacons and go downtown
and do the same in the name of Jesus Christ to some random street person?

SO, WHAT WILL BE YOUR LEGACY YEARS FROM NOW?

AMERICA NEEDS TO CRASH AND END UP IN THE GUTTER
TO LEARN COMPASSION

IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT FOOD

GOOD COP STORY

THE QUESTION IS, WOULD YOU DO THESE THINGS IF
THERE WAS NO ONE LOOKING BUT GOD?