Better Is Little (by Cathe Laurie)

“Better is little with righteousness than great revenues without right” (Proverbs 16:8 KJV).

Quietly, in the corner of my mind, the classic and sobering poem “Richard Cory” sits. Look it up—it’s short, but it’s worth the read.

“He glittered when he walked.”

A celebrity extraordinaire. Girls held their breath if he ever just said, “Good morning.” He was, in the words of the poem, “richer than a king,” and we “thought that he was everything to make us wish that we were in his place.”

Does anyone come to mind when you hear those words? Anyone you’ve envied for their fame, mansion, or extraordinary wealth? It’s a life that seems dazzling, sparkling, and full.

The World’s Lie

The world keeps selling us the same lie in pink wrapping paper: If you can just become the girl everyone envies, you will finally be happy. But “Richard Cory” is like Heaven’s megaphone shouting back: “No, you will not!”

The poem doesn’t end with Richard Cory living happily ever after. Instead, it ends with a jolt: While the world wished they lived as “well” as he did, Richard Cory went home and took his own life.

Where to Find Real Life

It’s a horrible conclusion that shocks us and forces us to check our hearts. The harsh truth is that life is not better with the riches of the world. In fact, they can leave us emptier than ever before. Instead, life is better with the fear of the Lord, with love, with laughter that isn’t filtered, and with prayers breathed over a friend at 3 AM, than all the revenues in the world without it.

“Better is little with righteousness than great revenues without right” (Proverbs 16:8 KJV).

Three Disciplines to Keep

This year, as the confetti of January settles, here are three small, homely disciplines to keep you and me rich in what matters:

• The 3-Second Gratitude Reset

Every time you open Instagram and feel the stab of “she has what I want,” stop. Breathe. Name three specific things in your real, right-now life that are gifts from God (your perfect playlist, the way your husband or roommate loaded the dishwasher without being asked, those comfy fuzzy socks you got for Christmas, etc.). Thank Him out loud. It’s impossible to envy and give thanks in the same heartbeat.

• The Secret Good Deed Jar

Grab a Mason jar and some scraps of paper. Every day, write down one thing you did for someone that wasn’t posted: texting a hurting friend, letting your toddler “help” make the bed even though it took twenty minutes, or leaving a kind note in your husband’s lunch. By next year, you’ll have 365 proofs that your life is already radiant in the only economy that never crashes.

• The Nighttime “Better is Little” Prayer

Before your head hits the pillow, pray the verse: “Lord, thank You that better is little with righteousness than great revenues without right. Keep me content, keep me faithful, keep me loving like You love.” Then fall asleep knowing you are filthy rich in the eyes of God.

The girl who has little, with righteousness, wakes up every morning richer than Richard Cory ever dreamed.

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Cathe Laurie is the founder and director of the Virtue women’s ministry. She is also a featured speaker on The Virtue Podcast, at Harvest events, and the author of As I See It. You can find her weekly articles here on harvest.org.