Once upon a time there was a businessman who was sitting on the beach in a small Italian village.

As he sat, taking a brief break from the stress of his daily schedule, he saw a fisherman rowing a small boat back into the harbor. In the boat were a few large fish.

Impressed, the businessman asked the fisherman, “How long does it take you to catch so many fish?” To which he replied “Oh, not so long.”

The businessman was confused, “Why don’t you fish longer so you can even catch more?”

“More? This is enough to feed my entire family and even offer some to my neighbors,” the fisherman said.

“So what do you do for the rest of your day?” inquired the businessman.

The fisherman replied, “Well, I’ve usually caught my fish by late morning. So, I go home, kiss my wife, and play with my kids. In the afternoon, I take a nap and read. In the evening, I go to the village to talk with my friends, play guitar, sing songs, and share stories."

Putting his entrepreneurial hat on, the businessman offered a suggestion.

“I have a PhD in business! I can help you become much more successful. From now on, you should spend longer at sea and catch as many fish as possible. When you’ve saved enough money, buy a bigger boat to catch even more fish. From there, you’ll soon be able to buy more boats, set up your own company, build a production plant to can the fish and control distribution, and move to the city to control your other branches.”

To this, the fisherman asks, “And after that?”

The businessman laughs, “After that, you’ll be able to live like a king, take your company public, float your shares and be rich!”

“And after that?” asks the fisherman once more.

“After that, you can retire, move to a house by the sea, wake up early in the morning to go fishing; then return home to play with your kids, kiss your wife, take a nap in the afternoon and join your friends in the village, play guitar and sing songs!”

Puzzled, the fisherman replies, “But isn’t that what I’m already doing?”

Moral of the story: Be content with what you have. Do you really need to keep pushing for more? Stress is often a choice. There’s joy and peace in simplicity.

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Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”  Hebrews 13:5 NLT

People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep.  Ecclesiastes 5:12 NLT

I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man.   Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 ESV

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It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy that makes happiness. - Charles Spurgeon

Contentment makes poor men rich; discontent makes rich men poor. - Benjamin Franklin

Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have. - Anonymous

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If you have a story or testimony that you think might bless others,
I invite you to send it by email to me (Kenneth Kersey) at godsotherways@me.com.

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