How much is enough?

How  much do we have a right to use? and what constitutes exploitation? We all have the right to life but what does this mean? The right to life includes more than questions about reproduction or war or capital punishment. It means each person has a right to eat, to be clothed, to be sheltered and to be nourished by the beauty of the world of which we are all a part. But how much and what quality / and or quantity of food do we have a right to when others who also have the right to eat do not have enough to live on? How many changes of clothing do we have a right to when others who have the right to be clothed go naked? How elaborate a home do we have a right to when others who also have a right to shelter are homeless? How much beauty do we have a right to when other gentle spirits live in squalor?
There are many circumstances that contribute to the complexity of these question making them difficult to answer. We cannot be censured for putting resources aside for future use, for education of our children for possible medical needs, for retirement and even for a long deserved vacation. But the question remains: how much do we need? How much do we have a right to? Our consumer society might tell us we have a right to everything we can earn and does that mean at the expense of the poor? In a world of limited resources how much do we have have a right to? What does the balance of the world's natural resourcdes tell us? What does the the legitimate needs of others tell us? Finally what does our religious tradition tell us? There may not be easy answers to these questions but as Christians we are not merely children of this world; we are also children of light. We are more than insatiable consumers. Our value is not to be found in the measure of our possessions but rather in the quality of our relationships, in particular our relationships with our 'deprived' sisters and brothers for the sake of Christ. "....for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me. I was ill and you comforted me, in prison and you came to visit me.......as often as you did it for one of my least brothers, you did it for me......" (Mat. 25, 31-46)