I Want It All

I Want It All

Author: Adam Etris, Programming Director
Margin for More - Part 1

Have you seen the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? No, not the one with Johnny Depp—that one was disappointing. I’m talking about the classic starring Gene Wilder. It’s an amazing ride filled with joy and hope, but it’s also kind of creepy and has random moments of scary. That boat ride in the tunnel scene still messes with me.

What makes this movie so unique is that, in the midst of the outrageous and bizarre, there are little lessons on how to live a life of gratitude.

One of the characters was a girl named Veruca Salt. She was what some would call spoiled. She sang the famous song “I Want It Now." Here is one of the lines from the song.

—
I want the world
I want the whole world
I want to lock it all up in my pocket
It's my bar of chocolate
Give it to me now.
—

She had a hard time being grateful for what she had. She always wanted more. Nothing was good enough. I remember watching that movie when I was a kid, and I thought that I didn’t want to end up down the rotten egg chute like her. More importantly, I didn’t want that to be my kids. Fast forward to today. I’m 43 years old. I have 3 kids, 2 of which are 7-year-old twin boys, who I have to remind daily to be grateful for what they have. I tend to give them a pass because they are kids, and it’s hard for them to fully understand that idea of contentment, but I admit that as an adult, I can still have a problem with being grateful for what I have.

This past Sunday, Pastor Josh Rhodes kicked off our new series, "Margin for More." We have the ability to create margin for more generosity in three areas of life: our time, talent, and treasure. But in order to do that, our first step is to be grateful for those things.

Easier said than done, especially since we live in a world constantly telling us we need more: newer, better, faster. Social media and advertising feed us this narrative every day. The more we focus on what we lack, the less content and grateful we become for what we do have. 

– Psalm 118:24

This verse reminds us that every day is a gift from God. When we wake up, we can either start our day by complaining about how busy or hard life is or choosing gratitude. How would our outlook change if we woke up every morning saying, “God, thank you for today?”

This mindset applies to more than just time. It also extends to our talents. Each of us is uniquely made by God with various gifts and talents. Instead of comparing ourselves to others and wishing for their skills, we can choose to be grateful for the way God has designed us.

Lastly, we can be grateful for our treasure, whether that’s money, a home or my set of golf clubs. When we recognize that everything we have comes from God, it frees us from the cycle of wanting more and allows us to hold our possessions loosely.

I know. It can be overwhelming to look at all of that and feel confident that we won’t fall into the trap of wanting more. Josh made it simple by giving us three things to pray for each day.