The apostle Paul in the New Testament book of 2 Timothy tells his young prodigy pastor that if he really wants to please the Lord and do well in ministry pastoring a church than he must be careful not to get “entangled in the affairs of everyday life”. I think about that counsel often and wonder if I am “entangled” or not, or if I am getting close. I often wish that there was some kind of definitive way of measuring that. I own things, possibly more that I ought, not in a bad way, just in a way that takes to much time away from doing things that have an eternal result. Everything I own, owns me. I have to take care of it, maintain it, use it. Granted, a person has to live and certain things facilitate that aspect of life, but it is so easy to want just a little bit more and justify it. With the constant exposure to advertising on the television, magazines, and the Internet there is a constant brainwashing that I really do need certain things. One of the blessings of the 2 month bicycle trip that we took last summer to Portland, Maine with everything we needed in bags on the bicycle that weighed less than 70 lbs, it was easy to see how simple life could become. Oh well I don’t think I will sell everything tomorrow, but I do want to think about where I am and stay on guard against thinking I need just a little bit more to be happy.