Where is your line?

Like many I have encountered along the way, the question of how much is enough has become a common thread of conversations pertaining to stewardship, philanthropy, tithing and generosity.

My recent trip to the Q conference in LA provided helpful insight. If the goal is to learn to not live in excess of generosity, then determining the line of "enough" is necessary.

I really appreciated the challenge presented by Jeff Shinabarger, Founder of GiftCardGiver.com: "Is generosity possible in an age of self?"

In a culture that successfully convinces us that we always need to have more, it is important for us to learn to shed the excess of our lives. Imagine the continuum of suffering, enough and excess. We can more easily assess the difference between want and need when we realize that “want” is anything greater than enough, and “need” those things that reduce our suffering and bring us closer to the line of enough.

When we choose to live with less, we stop living in excess of generosity and we stop the cycle of want more, spend more, get more.