THE LESSONS OF CONTENTMENT

Hebrews 13:1-8
1 Keep on loving each other as brothers. 2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. 3 Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. 4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." 6 So we say with confidence,"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" 7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Feel like your cash stash isn't enough? Has your desire for more made for less peace in your heart? Here come three points on learning to be content.

* Keep money in its place. It's amazing the number of times the Bible links discontentment with money. John the Baptist told the tax collectors to stop ripping off the public and be content with their pay (Luke 3:14). Paul told Timothy, "Godliness with contentment is great gain. . . . For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil" (1 Timothy 6:5,10).

We need money, but the dollar-focused life leads only to discontentment. Agur prayed to be kept from hunger-driven crime or prosperity-fueled godlessness (Proverbs 30:7-9). Not a bad prayer for us too.

* Value what you have. It isn't just money that we can be greedy for. I work as a radio announcer, and every week I interview Jesus-followers who are doing amazing things in the kingdom: The missionary who is witnessing a mighty evangelistic movement among Estonia's deaf community. The young adults who are hitting the backpacking circuit to reach hitchhikers. And those who are seeing prisoners set free, the homeless sheltered, and the rejected befriended.

Listening to stories like these, it's not uncommon for me to feel that I'd like to be "called" to a new ministry (hey, backpacking around the world for God--where do I sign up?). The problem is, the more I hear, the more ambitions I get. Yet, with the greater ambitions comes no more time. And that's when I feel discontent. Slowly but surely I'm learning to value the meaningful work andexperiences I have.

Now here comes the reason . . .

* Because God is with you. The bottom line of contentment is enjoying God's presence (Hebrews 13:5-6). God's greatest gift to us is not wealth, or abundance, or even miracles. It's His very self. --Sheridan Voysey

DESTINATION POINTS

* The apostle Paul learned how to be content (Philippians 4:10-14). How is my grade in Contentment 101?
* Reflect on Ecclesiastes 4:6.What can I let go of today to become more content?
* How can I rearrange my life to spend more intimate time with God, the Great Fulfiller?

LINKS:
The Secret That Will Change Your Life
http://www.christianitytoday.com/cl/8c6/8c6030.html

bottom line: In God alone we find all we need.

soul journey