Why Doesn’t ‘More’ Ever Satisfy?

Speaker A00:00:00

Have you ever noticed this? You finally get that raise. Or maybe it's that bonus, or it's that new client. And for a minute, you feel relief. You're like, oh, this has worked.Think, okay, can breathe again. But then that feeling fades, doesn't it? And your mind starts whispering again. Okay, now I just need a little bit more.Maybe for you it's a little more money or a little more margin or maybe just a little more security. But, friend, that little more is a lie. And it never ends. And it doesn't bring you peace.So if you've been feeling that pressure, I want you to hear this right now. Nothing is wrong with you. You're not greedy. You're not broken. You've just been trained by a loud world.So here's the question you and I are answering today. Why doesn't more ever satisfy us? And I want to gently expose what lie does to your heart and how God leads you into real contentment.Because, friend, you. You were not created to chase a finish line that keeps moving. You were created for peace. Hey, friend. Ralph Estep Jr. Here.Welcome to Financially Confident Christian, where we learn how to walk through life and money with wisdom, with peace, and with a heart anchored in God's truth. My mission is simple.I want to help you break that cycle of financial shame and build steady habits rooted in faith, and truly become a financially confident Christian. And I'm so glad you're here today. Yesterday, you and I talked about scarcity versus abundance and how that mindset truly shapes your money habits.Today, we're going to go one layer even deeper. Yes, believe it or not, we can even go deeper. Because one of the biggest mindset traps in our culture is this. Happiness equals more.Think about what culture says to us. More money. It'll make you happy. More stuff we're all guilty of that make you happy. More upgrades. More. Finally, I've made it.And the problem is, this is the scary part. It doesn't just affect what you buy. It affects what you believe.It'd be all right if it just affected what you bought, but it affects what you believe. It can teach you to think terrible things. Like, I can't relax yet. Can't be okay yet. I can't feel peace yet.So, friend, if that's been you, I am so glad you're here today. Here's today's listener question. Ralph, why do I always feel like I'm just one step away from being okay?Like, if I just had a little more, made a little bit more money, or got A little more saved, then I'd finally be able to relax. But I never do. Ralph, what's wrong with me? And that broke my heart when I read that. Because first of all, friend, nothing is wrong with you.You've just been trained by a loud world that keeps shouting lies at you. And the world is really good at keeping you chasing. That's the whole point of it. But God is really good at teaching you to rest.So if you've been living under that pressure, it can feel like you're chasing a finish line. It just keeps moving. You hit that goal and immediately moves forward again. You start feeling behind again. Maybe it's in debt.You pay something off and something else takes its place. Or you buy that thing, oh, this was going to solve everything. I was going to feel so great. But then you feel that emptiness afterwards.And the worst part is this, you start believing a lie that peace is always later. Yeah, I have peace when I earn more. I have peace when I save more or when life is easier. Life doesn't get any easier. But friend, hear this on this.Peace isn't a number. Peace is a person. And you don't have to wait until everything is perfect to truly experience it. Let's talk about what culture says.Culture tells us this lie. If you get more, you're going to be happier. All around us, social media, everything we say get more. Get this stuff. You got to have this.It'll make you feel fantastic. Big smiles on everybody's faces as they're buying stuff they don't want or need. But reality says something different.Enough never feels like enough when your heart is hungry for security. We mentioned this yesterday. Money can solve problems. Yes, it can make you feel comfortable, but it will never satisfy your soul.Yeah, money can buy comfort, but it can't buy contentment. Money can buy distraction. How many of us spend our lives buying distraction. But it can't buy you peace.And that's why you can have plenty and still feel empty. Let me tell you a personal story. I've lived in seasons of plenty, and I felt emptier than ever. See, you can still have little and still have joy.That's the other side of this. The difference isn't the amount. It's what you're trusting. And, friend, today you can shift that trust. I'm Ralph Estepp Jr. I'm an accountant.I deal with numbers and money all day long. So I've watched this from the front row. I've seen people climb income ladders. They that were amazing. You're like Ralph, they've arrived.They had it all. I was one of those people, but guess what? I still felt anxious. But at the same time, I've seen simple people who just have a little bit.And, man, they live lives that are incredible. They sleep deeply. They have peace in their lives. Because here's the culture lie. I want to turn on its head right now. More doesn't quiet the fear.Only trust does. And. And, friend, trust is something you can learn. Yes, you heard me right. You can learn to trust. I've had people tell me this, Ralph.When I hit this number, then I'm finally going to feel okay. And then they reach that number, and for a moment, like they do feel okay. But then something happens.They go on social media, and it's a new comparison. Look at this new car. I got to get this. Or it's a new expense. It's a subscription they got to have.Or maybe it's a health worry, something weren't expecting for so many of us, it's just a new goalpost. We saw that finish line, and then it moved forward. And then they realized something. The problem wasn't the number.The problem was expecting the number to do what only God can do. Friend, if you've done that, you're not dumb. You're just hungry for peace. All of us are hungry for peace. And God doesn't want to shame you for that.He just invites you to come closer. So here's the real question today. What are you expecting money to give you that it was never designed to give?And what if the thing you're chasing is actually found somewhere else completely? But we got to start by acknowledging the more a lie keeps moving the target on you. See, more never has a finish line.More doesn't have an end point, because the moment you get it, guess what happens? Your mind adjusts. That's what we do as human beings. We're flesh. And that more becomes your new normal.And then the more becomes more, and the more and the more and the more. And then that normal doesn't feel exciting anymore. So what happens? You start chasing again.So, friend, if you've ever felt that treadmill, it's not because you lack gratitude. A lot of people say, well, you're just not grateful. I hear knuckleheads in church say this all the time. You're just not grateful enough.No, it's because more is designed to keep you running. That's what culture's trying to do, trying to keep you on that treadmill, running and running.And you've got to hear this, the more lie is fueled by comparison. I talk about this on the show all the time. Comparison is gasoline on dissatisfaction.You don't even want that thing until you saw someone else with it. You were on Facebook or Instagram or TikTok. Oh, I got to have this. You had no idea what it was before you saw the stupid thing.You were content, then you scrolled and suddenly you feel your life feels smaller even though nothing has changed. Friend, that's not wisdom, that's noise. That's the noise I'm talking about.But you don't have to let that noise break the story for the rest of your life. And of course, more money can increase your options. I'd be lying to you if I told you it couldn't. But more money is never going to give you peace.Yes, money can increase your choices. It gives you options. It can create flexibility. It can remove some day to day stress. But it can never remove the deepest fear of all human beings.What if I'm not safe? Because safety isn't found in what you can control. It's found in who holds you. And friend, God holds you.God holds you even when the numbers feel tight, Even when the future feels unclear. Hear me on this. Enough isn't a number. It's a decision that you get to make. And this is big. You don't stumble into contentment. You choose it.See, a lot of people think, well, I'm going to get to contentment. I'm going to arrive there. No, guess what? You've been lied to. You choose contentment. See, contentment says this.I will be grateful here while I grow that. This isn't about being complacent. It's not about being lazy. It's just being grounded. So you can pursue goals without being owned by those goals.And friend, you can grow without grinding your soul down. Just remember, contentment doesn't mean you don't want things. It's okay to want things. Contentment doesn't mean you never desire. Guess what?You're going to desire things. But what it does mean is you don't demand those things. It means you don't say, I can't have peace until I have those things. You can want more margin.You can want to grow your income, you can want to grow your balance. But you don't attach your worth to the outcome. Because, friend, your worth has already been settled. Because here's the truth.True contentment is rooted in Christ alone. See, that's the heart of it. If your heart is trying to be filled by money, you are always going to come up empty. If that's what your goal is.You will always be empty. But when Christ is your anchor, money becomes a tool and not a master. And see, our tools don't control us. They don't control you.Don't they serve you? Because, friend, God wants you to be free. He truly does. He doesn't want you obsessed. He doesn't want you anxious. And he doesn't want you chasing.He wants you free. Let's look at first Timothy 6. 6. But godliness with contentment is great gain. What are we talking about here? It's a different scoreboard.The world calls gain. More money, more stuff, more status, more comparison garbage. But what does God call gain? A heart at rest. A heart that can breathe.A heart that can say, I have enough. Because guess what? I have him. And friend, you can live from that place today. So here's your action step.I want you to write down one area where you will practice contentment this very week. Just one. Doesn't have to be this big, long list. Maybe it's this contentment with your car. I hate this car. This car is a piece of garbage.It's always got problems with it. But you know what? I'm going to make a decision. I am going to have contentment with my car. Or maybe for you, it's your home. This home is too small.It's too old. It needs this, it needs that. But today I'm going to make a decision. I'm going to live in contentment with my home. Here's a great one.Maybe you need to make a decision to live in contentment with your income right now. That doesn't mean you never aspire for more. It doesn't mean you don't work towards that.But right now, I'm going to live in a peace that says my income right now is okay. And maybe for you, it's contentment with your pace. Maybe you feel like, you know, I'm just not getting anywhere, Ralph.I feel like I should be farther along. But you know what? Today I'm going to make a decision. I'm going to live in contentment with the pace that I'm in. And then say this simple sentence.Lord, help me be grateful here while I grow. See, this is contentment with movement. This is you growing without being driven by fear. Let's pray together.Lord, thank you for teaching us true contentment.Help us reject that lie of more that's all around us, that noise of culture all around us and give us joy in what we have and peace in your provision. Teach us to hold goals with open hands and keep our hearts deeply anchored in you. And we ask this in Jesus name. Amen.Friend, if you've been living under pressure, if you've been living always to chase more, you don't have to carry that alone anymore. I want you to join us in our community at financiallyconfidentchristian.com/join again. That's financiallyconfidentchristian.com/join.This is a place where you can learn to walk in wisdom, walk without shame, and walk with a heart anchored in God's truth. And friend, you belong with us. See, more doesn't always mean better. Just want you to hear that loud and clear. More does not always mean better.And just a little more will never finally be enough. But true contentment in Christ, that's a kind of wealth that nobody could ever take away from you.Now, tomorrow, we're going to talk about how you can break the cycle of financial fear once and for all. Yes, we're leading up to something, aren't we?So, friend, if today's show has made you think about somebody who, you know who is chasing more right now, I want to encourage you, share this show with them. Help them understand that there's something bigger and deeper and better than that. Because this show is not about financial shame.It's about walking in wisdom and staying financially savvy. So as I close today, go out there today and be a financially confident Christian. You can do this. I have confidence in you. God bless you.And you have a great day today.