How Much is Enough?

Someday you will retire. Will a million dollars be enough? When J.P. Morgan died in 1914, his peers were surprised that his estate totaled "only" $68 million ($802 million in 1989 dollars). "And to think that he was not a rich man," sympathized steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie. Don Patrick, a financial planning expert says, "It’s not like being a millionaire used to be. Realistically, you can expect to get $60,000 to $70,000 a year-if you’re lucky-from it. That’s comfortable, but that is not rich." Experts tell us that you will need close to 80% of your current income when you retire. The current middle income couples in their thirties will need one million dollars by retirement time. If social security fails, you may need two million. Couples starting 401-K plans in their twenties will have no financial problems in later life, if they leave the money compounding and don’t touch it until their late sixties.

Ron Blue says that we need to decide now "how much wealth is enough". If we don’t draw a line, then as selfish and insecure people, we will always want more. Don’t compare yourself with others. Make your own plans. When you reach your goal, then spend the balance of your time and money resources helping others. The more that we focus on others, instead of ourselves, the more satisfied we will become. Accumulating wealth does not ultimately satisfy. Giving to the needs of others does not pay monetary dividends, but there are large dividends of love, peace, and enjoyment.

We must plan for the future, but our focus cannot be on the material. Our focus must be on the eternal, the unseen. Chuck Woods says, "Most of use experience an entire career or live a lifetime before we realize that money doesn’t buy the important things." We must hold our money merely as custodians for what is ultimately God’s. He is the source of all wealth. Albert Schweitzer once said, "If you own something that you can’t give away, you don’t own it, it owns you!" Therefore, we must hold our possessions loosely with an open hand. Theologian Richard foster writes, "Being aware of God’s ownership can free us from a possessive and anxious spirit. After we have done what we can to care for those things that have been entrusted to us, we know that they are in bigger hands than ours. When John Wesley heard that his home had been destroyed by fire, he exclaimed, "The Lord’s house burned. One less responsibility for me!"

In conclusion, money is necessary, but it is only a tool to be used. It does not give us happiness, it only shows the source of our happiness by how we spend it, invest it, and give it away. Money does not solve our problems, it only reveals our character.

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