The Question We Never Ask!
Is your validation found in the bottom of the Cracker Jack Box?
When Will It Be Enough?
Here’s a question almost no adult ever asks themselves:
When will it be enough?
Enough success.
Enough hours at work.
Enough time away from the kids.
Enough time away from your spouse.
Enough money in the bank.
Enough productivity.
Enough applause.
Enough people noticing that you’re doing well.
We don’t ask that question.
Because deep down, we’ve already agreed on the answer:
Not yet. Just a little more.
And the strange thing is, we only ever ask “When will it be enough?” in one safe, socially acceptable category:
Retirement planning.
“How much is enough to stop working?”
So apparently everything else in life is allowed to be infinite.
Work has an endpoint.
But ambition doesn’t.
Money doesn’t.
Busyness doesn’t.
Approval doesn’t.
We will exhaust ourselves chasing “more” and call it responsibility.
Only Children Think the Next Prize Will Do It
Children are convinced the next prize will finally make them happy.
The Cracker Jack box.
The Happy Meal toy.
The sticker.
The tiny plastic thing that will be forgotten by dinner.
They open it, stare at it for ten seconds, and then ask:
“Can I have another one?”
And we laugh.
Because we think, How adorable. They think happiness comes in boxes.
And then we grow up…
…and do the exact same thing.
Only our prizes are bigger, shinier, and socially impressive.
A promotion.
A title.
A bigger house.
A fuller calendar.
Another achievement we can casually mention in conversation.
We don’t outgrow the mentality.
We just disguise it as adulthood.
Even the Richest Man in the World Didn’t Know
Andrew Carnegie, one of the wealthiest men in history, was asked a simple question:
“How much money is enough?”
His answer?
“Just a little bit more.”
The richest man in the world looked at his fortune and said:
Still not enough.
Which tells you something important:
This was never about money.
It was about validation.
What We’re Actually Seeking (And It’s Not Stuff)
Let’s name the thing underneath all of this.
We are not chasing money for money’s sake.
We are not chasing success for success’s sake.
We are not chasing busyness because we love exhaustion.
We are chasing validation.
We want to be seen.
We want to be admired.
We want to feel like we matter.
We want someone—anyone—to look at our life and say:
“You’re enough. You did it. You count.”
So we try to earn that feeling.
With work.
With success.
With money.
With achievement.
With being needed.
With never stopping.
We’re hoping that one more win will finally quiet the question inside us.
It never does.
Jesus Exposes This Lie Completely
This is why Jesus’ baptism is so disruptive.
Before Jesus healed anyone.
Before He preached a sermon.
Before He saved a soul.
Before He performed a miracle.
He steps into the water.
And the Father says:
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Not “This is my Son, who is about to prove Himself.”
Not “This is my Son, who will earn my approval.”
Not “This is my Son, once He accomplishes enough.”
Beloved.
Pleased.
Before performance.
Jesus operated FROM God’s Love not FOR God’s love!
What about You?
Jesus was validated before productivity.
And that breaks our whole system.
The Tragedy: We’re Trying to Earn What Jesus Already Received
We are killing ourselves trying to earn validation…when God already gave it.
We are striving for approval we already have.
We are chasing “enough” in places that were never meant to give it.
God is not impressed by your résumé.
God is not waiting for your next milestone.
God is not holding His affection hostage until you finally slow down.
In Christ, you are already loved.
Already seen.
Already enough.
And if that’s true — and it is — then the frantic chase makes no sense.
Why We Don’t Ask ‘Enough?’
We don’t ask “When will it be enough?” because we’re afraid of what would happen if we stopped.
If we slowed down, who would we be?
If we rested, would we still matter?
If we weren’t productive, would we still be loved?
That fear tells you everything.
Because people who know they are already validated don’t need to prove it.
They don’t need endless trophies.
They don’t need infinite applause.
They can stop.
Jesus’ Invitation Is Not ‘Try Harder’
Jesus doesn’t say:
“Do more so God will love you.”
He says:
“Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Rest is not the reward for finishing the race.
Rest is the starting point for people who know who they are.
A Question Worth Asking
So ask the question we avoid:
When will it be enough?
And then ask the one that actually matters:
What if I’m already validated?
What if the love I’m trying to earn has already been spoken over me?
What if “enough” isn’t ahead of me……but underneath me?
With Loving Snark
Only children think the next prize will finally make them happy.
Adults are supposed to know better.
But we keep chasing approval in the form of money, success, and exhaustion—hoping it will finally tell us we’re enough.
God already did.
Before you performed.
Before you proved anything.
Before you burned yourself out.
The voice from heaven still says:
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1st John 3:1)
So maybe the question isn’t:
“When will it be enough?”
Maybe the question is:
Why am I still chasing validation when I already have it?
—
Rev. John Roberts
Thank you, John, for this important reminder. We need to rely on Jesus in all things and then do what we can to make up there come down here. It is not a matter of more money, position, etc. Rather, it is Doing what God wishes with our lives. That is the true validation!