Be content with what you have !

Friday, December 16, 2022

Be content with what you have !

“It is better to be content with what you have than to be carried away by your desires. That doesn't lead anywhere either, you might as well run after the wind !” Ecclesiastes 6. 9

We find it difficult to be satisfied with what we have, because we constantly compare ourselves to others. If our neighbor buys a new car, we immediately compare it to our humble sedan, more than ten years old. To compound the comparison, we most often imagine that what they have is of greater value or better quality than our own possessions. The result is a strong dose of frustration and bitterness, which quickly leads us to covet the property of our neighbors. But God said : “You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 20:17). And since He knows that we tend to dodge His commandments, He adds : “neither his household, nor his wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey”. He could have added for us : “neither his car, nor his motorhome, nor his designer clothes... etc”. The Bible goes even further. Jesus says : “If anyone wants to sue you for taking your tunic, leave your garment to him also” (Matthew 5:40). To covet means “to keep tight between one's fingers”. If you are unable to give something to someone who needs it and asks for it, you have become a slave to that good. He owns you, not the other way around. Now it is not a sin to want to improve your life, own a better car or a more spacious house, or enjoy a nice vacation. Sin comes when you cease to be satisfied with what God has given you. According to an old hymn “count the blessings of God, always put them before your eyes. You will see, while worshiping, how great the number is !” Paul had learned to be content with his daily life without ever complaining : “I learned to be content with the state in which I find myself. I know how to live humbly as I know how to live in abundance. In everything and everywhere, I have learned to be full and to be hungry, to have plenty and to have lack” (Philippians 4. 11-12). Let's take an example from him !

Source (His Word for Today)