Reading
Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for he himself has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5 (NRSV)
Reflection
A while back, I finally gave in to a trend that had taken over my social media for months: needlepoint. I resisted for as long as I could. I already had plenty of hobbies, and the last thing I needed was another reason to spend my money on crafts, especially since this particular hobby came with a much higher price tag.
But the canvases were cute, and my friends loved needlepoint. “I’m just looking” turned into “Maybe I’ll try just one,” and before I knew it, I was bringing home multiple canvases, thread, needles, wooden bars, tacks, a little magnet to hold my needle, and the tiniest scissors you’ve ever seen. I’m honestly too embarrassed to even admit how much this all cost.
Once I finished my first canvas, I didn’t feel the satisfaction I had hoped for. As I looked down at the finished canvas in my hands, all I could think was, “I spent that much money for this?” The longer I sat with that dissatisfaction, it prompted me to ask an important question: What was I hoping this purchase would give me?
Yes, I wanted to try a new craft, but I mainly wanted to be included. I wanted to understand what everyone was so excited about. Without really noticing, I had started to believe that I needed the same things as everyone else to be happy. Meanwhile, I had crafts I already loved sitting at home, waiting for me to pick them up again.
The pressure to buy came from my own insecurity about being left out, with a little help from a very persistent social media feed. This made me wonder how often I do this. How often do I see something that someone else enjoys and automatically assume that I need it too? How often do I reach for my wallet before pausing actually to notice what is motivating my purchase?
What if, instead of reaching for something to buy, I had turned to God with what I was really feeling? What if I admitted that I felt left out, instead of looking for something to buy to soothe that deeper ache? I’m still learning to pause before buying the next thing and ask what it is that I actually want. Sometimes the answer may be a new hobby, but, more often, it may be time with a friend, a conversation with God, or an afternoon spent enjoying something I already have.
We have been tricked into thinking that if we get that one thing we want (as if it’s ever just one thing), then we will finally be completely satisfied. We’re almost there. But the truth is, we live in a perpetual state of almost being there—we never actually get there. Because our happiness isn’t found in spending money on things, it’s in investing in our relationships with God and with others, and we don’t need more stuff to do that.
When we stop treating every desire as a need and acting on every impulse to buy unnecessary things, we can begin to enjoy the life we already have without constantly adding things to it. When we feel the pull to buy something because we’ve seen our friends with it, in person or online, we can pause and ask whether it’s the thing itself we want—or something deeper.
Prayer
Loving God,
Remind me that I belong to you. Help me recognize my deeper longings, find joy in what I have, and trust that with you, I already have all that I need. Amen.
