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Less is More? That's Stupid Math


Perhaps you have heard that less is more. That’s ridiculous. More is more. Saying less is more is akin to saying that 2 = 3. Even a young child knows to choose the hand holding 2 treats over the hand holding one treat. Less being equivalent to more is mathematical nonsense. It’s something we tell ourselves when we want everyone to be content with having less.

I believe that the statement arrived as a push back to the idea that more is better. Now that is something I can get behind. For starters we don’t believe that more is better in a general way. We believe that more of the good stuff is better. We don’t want more bills, headaches and meetings. We want more money, fame and time to do what we enjoy. But is that always better?

The Apostle Paul said it best when he wrote the following;
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.
I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,
whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
~Philippians 4:12

It’s hard to argue against contentment as a virtue. But that doesn’t really answer the question regarding more being equivalent to better. Yet people have long argued that you can have too much of a good thing. Too many cookies will result in a stomach ache. Too much work may make Jack a dull boy, but too much play will lead to the unemployment line. And it didn’t take the smartest guy who ever lived to figure out that all the riches are still meaningless (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11).

Perhaps we should take a cue from Jesus. “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him” Isaiah 53:2. Isaiah goes on to describe Jesus as being despised and held in low esteem. That seems to be a harsh labeling of God. But He must be self-aware and had a plan for us to be like Him.

“God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—
to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him” ~1 Corinthians 1:28-29.

We’re not more than we need to be. We don’t need more than the next person. Practicing contentment will be a key factor in discovering true joy in a life of balance where God knows the exact amount we need.

That will be a great thing to keep in mind as we serve up turkey and trimmings and begin our Christmas lists. Bigger is not always better. More is just that, more. So it would seem that while less may not be more, it is actually better.
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