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Recently
a friend of mine was recounting an exchange he heard between a
father and a daughter at the mall.
The young girl was asking her Dad if she could have a
certain toy that was on the shelf.
The father explained, “Honey, you already have one of
those.” To which
the daughter replied, “I know, but I want another one.”
After hearing this story it led me to think about the times
when I want more than I truly need.
As the economy worsens and the threat of job loss and
income reduction looms large for many of us, I have begun to
reevaluate what I truly need in my life.
How many physical things in my life do I depend on to
define myself or make my life “fulfilling”?
The Bible has much to say about what we truly need to
be content in this life. But
how do we become content?
This question drove me as I searched the Scriptures to
uncover the answer. As
I discovered, I have much to learn.
CHOOSE OUR ATTITUDES
According to the writer of Ecclesiastes three major
components of contentment are to be joyful, to do good in our
lives, and to enjoy life and work (Ecc. 3: 12 – 13; 8:15;
9:7-9). The writer
explains that all of these things are gifts from God (2: 24;
3:13). Fortunately,
it is within our control to choose how we are going to receive
these gifts. We all experience challenging seasons in our
lives which can make it difficult to appreciate these gifts
from God. However,
we must remind ourselves that we have the opportunity and
ability to choose whether or not we are going to be joyful, to
do good things, and to enjoy our lives.
The writer tells us that this will lead us to the best
life we can experience on earth.
REALIGN OUR EXPECTATIONS
In 1 Timothy 6:6-8 Paul instructs young Timothy that if
we have food and clothing we should be content with that.
Living in the United States this almost seems
unfathomable. Just
food and clothing? What
about shelter, electricity, indoor plumbing, the internet?
When we read the Gospels we can read about Jesus eating
and we know He had clothes, but we don’t read about any
other possessions that Jesus had during His ministry.
The Father provided for the Son only what He needed to
do the most important job ever to be done on Earth.
The lifestyle that most in this country enjoy goes well
beyond food and clothing, so adjusting the way we think about
what we actually require to live is healthy, freeing, and
continually challenging.
DON’T LOVE MONEY
There is a connection between contentment and not
desiring money. In
Hebrews 13:5 the writer instructs his readers that their
character should be free from the love of money and they
should be content with what they have.
He explains that this should be the case because God
said He will never leave them and will be their helper (Heb.
13: 5- 6). In
Ecclesiastes the writer explains that those who are not rich
sleep well, while the wealth of their rich counterparts will
not allow them to sleep (Ecc. 5:12-13).
The desire to have money pushes our dependence on God
to the back of our minds.
The focus of our lives moves to our own strength, our
own desires and out of proper alignment with God’s will.
FOCUS ON THE CORRECT THING
Paul instructed the Corinthian Christians to stay in the same
life situation they found themselves when they became
Christians (1 Cor. 7:20).
He gives the example of being a slave.
Paul taught to not worry about being in slavery, but if
one had the opportunity to be free they should (1 Cor. 7:21).
This can sound a bit foreign to our twenty-first
century American ears. As
we know, a civil war was waged over this matter in the United
States and we are still working with Civil Rights concerns
today.
Certainly physical freedom is to be valued, however, Paul
focused on the more important issue.
He focused on one’s spiritual freedom.
Had Paul focused on his physical circumstances he may
not have accomplished his mission of communicating spiritual
freedom to the Gentiles. His
life was far from comfortable after becoming a Christian and
at times his physical freedom was taken from him when he was
imprisoned. Yet
because Paul did not lose focus of what was most important he
was able to say, “I fought the good fight, I have finished
the course, I have kept the faith…” (2 Tim. 4:7).
Paul taught that when given the opportunity to improve
our lives we absolutely should take advantage of that
blessing, but that is not to be our focus in life.
When we remove the focus from being on this life it
frees us to focus on serving God and that will ultimately
bring us the fulfillment we were striving for to begin with.
LEARN OUR SOURCE OF STRENGTH
In Philippians 4: 11 – 13 Paul states that he knew how to
deal with lean times and times of abundance.
Paul says that he learned the secret of being content
regardless of his physical circumstances.
That secret is spelled out in famous verse 13 when he
says, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens
me.” Paul does
not explain exactly how he learned this but one can conjecture
that when faced with shipwrecks, snakebites, and contentious
silversmiths Paul learned that strength comes from God and not
from himself.
CONCLUSION
I don’t know how the father responded to his daughter in the
mall that day. However,
I do know how he most likely felt.
It never feels good to have someone you love ask you
for something you have already provided to them.
God gives us so much and I shudder to think about how
many times I have returned to the well when God has already
given me a waterfall.
Adam Rico
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