“Towers of gold are still too little. These hands could hold the world but it’ll never be enough…for me.” Jenny Lind
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21
He waited breathlessly in the wings to see if his latest gamble would pay off. And it had better pay off. Here, he had sunk all the profits from his family’s first successful business. It was a miracle that his business had grown through the tough landscape of the economy the first time around. Now, it was all on the line again. He watched from stage left as the lights came up. “…I hope she can sing.” And there, to the wonder and bewilderment of all, came the most exquisite voice that had ever graced the stage. The ballad grew and crested into its signature chorus, “towers of gold are still too little, these hands could hold the world but it’ll never be enough, never be enough…for me.”
The anthem swelled into the balconies, and into the heart of her investor and new admirer, P.T. Barnum. Diving headfirst into this new revenue stream, Barnum began touring with the singer, Jenny Lind, playing to ever larger audiences until finally, even that was not enough. After experiencing all the admiration and riches their traveling performance could offer, she wanted more. This time, she wanted his heart too.
As you may know from watching “The Greatest Showman,”, thankfully, the fantasy ends there. P.T. Barnum finally realizes that what he was striving for – stability, family and happiness – was waiting for him at home. He had found what he needed, and passed right on by, because he could not sense when he had “enough”.
As we approach the Lent season, I wonder how well we can sense “enough”. How are our satiety signals when it comes to shopping, or alcohol or even endless scrolling to zone out? How do we know when we’ve zoomed right past self-care and into self-indulgence?
Practicing Lent today feels downright counter cultural. It feels like something we need to practice; not something that comes naturally. It is easy in a consumeristic culture for self-control to be an atrophied muscle. After all, self-control is not profitable. It requires a reshaping of our mindset to know that more is not always better. It means trusting that when our request is answered with “wait”, that could be a gift.
I don’t personally come from a spiritual background that emphasized Lent, but I do think it’s essential to have some seasons in our lives that are celebration and some seasons that are restraint. If you haven’t decided how you want to walk through the Lent season yet, I would encourage you to think about where your attention is currently, and how you can refocus on Jesus.