The vast majority of lottery winners ruin their lives and file for bankruptcy, learning too late the principles of 1 Timothy 6:17-19 (a passage that changed my life once).

A lot of our problems in life arise because we've not resolved the issue, "how much is enough?" Every promotion becomes an excuse to expand our lifestyle. God wants to uncomplicate our lives, but our consumer society won't let us.

And they're all good things - we're not even talking about the latest wide screen plasma TV's; we're talking about Christian school for our kids, a vacation with our spouse, decent health care.

But honestly, how much is enough? St. Francis of Asisi answered the question by taking off his clothes and abandoning everything. I'm hoping I don't need to go there. But we need to pre-determine a salary level and a standard of living that frees us from complicated living. Is $35,000 enough? $95,000?

All the wealthy people I know find that one of the consequences of wealth is that more of their life is consumed with taxes, portfolios, insurance premiums, and maintenance on the stuff they buy. It's a headache - instead of more freedom, they get bogged down.

If you're upwardly mobile or just playing the lotto, do yourself a favor and cap your lifestyle in advance. Dare to be counter-culture on this and you and your family will be happier.