Philip Parham tells the story of a rich industrialist who was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat. “Why aren’t you out there fishing?” he asked.

“Because I’ve caught enough fish for today,” said the fisherman.

“Why don’t you catch more fish than you need?” the rich man asked.

“What would I do with them?”

“You could earn more money,” came the impatient reply, “and buy a better boat so you could go deeper and catch more fish. You could purchase nylon nets, catch even more fish, and make more money. Soon you’d have a fleet of boats and be rich like me.”

The fisherman asked, “Then what would I do?”

“You could sit down and enjoy life,” said the industrialist.

“What do you think I’m doing now?” the fisherman replied as he looked placidly out to sea.

We chuckle. Yet that story highlights an important truth. If we live only to accumulate material wealth, we’ll never get enough. We’ll work more and more frantically—until we collapse!

Been working all the time? Refusing to take vacations? Life is more than possessions. Learn to trust more fully in the God who has given us all things to enjoy.

  — David C. Egner