Monday night when we sat down to have family prayer time, Brian read from Hebrews 13.
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you haveHebrews 13:5aAnd we decided he could stop right there. Those 16 words gave us plenty about which we could think and talk! We all agreed the "love of money" is not our personal struggle. But that "content with what you have" concept? Now, there's a challenge! So we spent time talking about our greatest area of dis-content, and how we might be able to guard our hearts - so we might learn to always be content with what we have. I recalled a statement I heard when I was in MOPS years ago. The speaker repeated over and over, "Comparison is the killer of contentment." It resonated with me then, and still rings true today. Think about it: *Your home is just fine - until you take a walk through that other neighborhood; where the houses are bigger, the yards are more manicured, and the fixtures are newer. *Your wardrobe satisfies you - until you browse through several catalogs and see all the new items which marketing says you need. *You're even happy with the quiet movie nights you spend with your husband - until your neighbor or co-worker tells you about the cruise she and her husband are taking again this year. Just like they did last year. And the year before that! So we asked the question, If comparison is the killer of contentment, what can we do to keep contentment alive? And the conclusion we reached was this: Give thanks for what we have. Something very real happens in my heart when I start giving thanks. God brings me contentment, AND He opens my eyes to more things I have for which I can be thankful. It's a wonderful snow-ball effect of being content and thankful. So, I've made a decision. The next time I start feeling discontent about working (because that was my "greatest area" in our discussion Monday night) I am going to give thanks to God. I'll start by thanking Him for providing me with a job I LOVE, and we'll see where HE takes me from there. I know it will be good. Because everything with Him is good! Do you struggle with being content? What do you do to keep contentment alive?
3 comments:
It was so nice to read your post. This is something I struggle with, too. I hate to think of the time wasted waiting for that "one thing" to happen that will make me content. Thanks for the reminder.
me, too. i struggle with discontent over my work as a pharmacist. this issue of giving thanks is one the Lord is bringing up to me over and over of late.
This is a GREAT post!! Love it.
Michele - Thanks so much for visiting. It's good to meet you!
I don't want to think of my wasted time, either. *sigh*
Leah - Hmmmmm. When HE repeats Himself... Glad I could participate in His call to you. :)
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