My wife and I enjoy many things in life. One of those things is Starbucks Coffee. Of course, it's not always the "coffee" in particular that we enjoy. I personally enjoy a nice cafe mocha from time to time. One of the things that Kristin sometimes picks on me about is my tendency to never savor my drink. Between the time the drive through attendant hands me my drink and the time we exit the parking lot, about half my drink is already gone. I have to force myself not to down the entire thing in a matter of just a few minutes. And even then, by the time I'm finished with my drink, Kristin has almost finished her third sip. She says to me "you know, if you slowed down and savored your drink, you might actually remember it enough to say you enjoyed it!" And she's right.
People do tend to enjoy things more when they savor them. And in the present fast-paced culture, people don't stop to smell the roses very often. We have been wired to run rather than sit. If we do sit, it has to be a deliberate attempt that sometimes seems awkward and out of place with the rest of life. And unfortunately our pocket books reap the harvest of sorrows, planted and watered by our non-stop, something-always-needs-done, always-need-something-new-in-my-life ambitions. We could go on for days talking about things we could stop and savor. But I want to talk about spending.
Matt Chandler says it well: "New stuff is nice. It’s almost intoxicating, isn’t it? There is an emotive response to trinkets and toys. People can almost get a high from new stuff. In this day and age, what’s new becomes old very, very quickly. Therefore, the high of what is new rarely even wears off before it is replaced with something newer." You can read the full article here.
For some of us, spending is to money what my consumption is to Starbucks. Quick, insatiable, and not fully appreciated. Our quality of life depreciates when we forget to stop and appreciate what we already have. If you want an absolutely free and 100% successful way to increase your quality of life, sit and savor the life that God has already provided for you, any day, any time. If you want an expensive way that has varying degrees of success that generally end up on Craigslist after a while, go and buy some more stuff.
We have much, and we still want much. We spend much, but love little. We continually chase after what could be without even appreciating what currently is. And our pocket books feel it. Some of us are like financial gluttons. Always taking in. Remember that gluttons are not always fat. You don't have to have a ton of stuff to be financially irresponsible and immoderate. You don't have to be in debt. You just have to be dissatisfied and unappreciative and always minding MORE. The appreciative person does not make himself appreciative by getting things he thinks he will appreciate. The appreciative person is appreciative because of who he is.
For many of us, we wonder "how do I become appreciative?" and we ask with the same mindset that is always trying to get more and get better...fast. It's like the person who "gets saved," not because he's been impressed upon by the Spirit who causes us to love the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but because any person who loves himself and has any flicker of common sense will do whatever it takes in his power to flee eternal pain and torture. That's not genuine. We want the switch or the pill that will make it all better so we can live our best life now and then move on to the next thing that will help us live an even better life now, free from worry and full of comfort. We have no intention of appreciating anything. It's just one more loose end that is added to our list of necessary improvements that we must attain in order to be happy.
So how do you genuinely learn to appreciate life? First, know that It Takes Time! Second, understand that the answer is directly related to the Gospel. You must cease from works. You must cling to Christ. You must be saturated with the truth that tells us that in Christ we have all that is necessary for LIFE and GODLINESS, and that we do not have to add anything to the pot. For some of us, this means we need a new definition for "necessary." But in any case, it takes a lot of hard, deliberate effort to first just sit down and try to appreciate things and to just cease from works. It's oxymoronic how we complain about having too much to do, but we still refuse to just sit. It's like we trap ourselves in a downward spiral of complaining and too much work and dissatisfaction by merely refusing to savor the life we do have. People easily miss the hand of God in creation. We too often miss the hand of God in our lives. Stop, take a look around, and cease from your works - from your gaining and adding and calculating and striving and stressing. The Gospel life really does provide rest for weary souls. It's surprising how much of an impact it will have on your finances too!