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     The phrase “next level” is used in and out of the church.   I’ve heard people say God is taking them to the next level or a new level.   Or I’ve heard people say when they reach the next level, everything will be better.   I’ve heard next level thinking, next level relationships, and next level promotion.   What is the next level?  I don’t have an answer for that question.   I believe next level for many is defined as more; however, more is not always better.   Most people’s lives are shaped by an insatiable desire for more.   We have been taught to seek value in things, rather than self.   We have been taught that fulfillment comes outside of ourselves.    
     Society has conditioned us to believe happiness or success is found through consumption.   The more things we acquire, the more successful we will appear.   The race for more is stressful and riddled with anxiety.   Your mind will have you focusing on what you don’t have as opposed to what you do have.   To the mind, there is never enough.   The disease of more is contributing to depression.   The mind will have you comparing yourself to others.  Comparison is the greatest thief of joy.   When you compare yourself to others, it contributes to feelings of inadequacy.    You thrust yourself into a race against someone who isn’t aware that there is a competition.   
     What is it that you are looking for?  Is there an end to all of the things you want to acquire?  What is the end goal?  Will you ever be satisfied?  Do you know what you are looking for?   The prosperity gospel has seduced many in the church with the desire for more.   They have entrapped people with this passage of scripture, “you will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:20).  This scripture, as taught by prosperity teachers suggest “fruits” are material wealth and/or gain.   
     How many of us have more than our grandparents and parents?   We are more materially affluent than people were thirty or forty years ago.   When will enough be enough?  For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul (Mark 8:36).  I, along with several of my relatives, have said we are going to be the first millionaires in the family.   I had to ask myself about the importance of becoming the first millionaire in the family.  Is my motive selfish and self-centered?  Is it for social status, to stand out, or to be envied?  Is it for self- indulgence or self-gratification? Will I use the wealth to feed the hungry and clothe the naked?  Will I help those who are less fortunate? 
     Wanting is a process that never ends.  Because no matter how much we acquire, there is always more.   The disease of more causes us to be dissatisfied with our present state.   It’s as if you are in a perpetual state of lack or feeling as though you are constantly missing out on something.   A cure for the disease of more is to practice gratitude and enjoy the simple things in life.  Learn to distinguish your wants from your needs, serve others and live intentionally.   Sometimes less is more.