"Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don't have." (Ecclesiastes 6:9 NLT)
"...godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment." (1 Tim. 6:21 NASB)
Contentment. Enjoying what we have without comparison to neighbors, friends, co-workers, or family. It would seem that that this disposition of the heart and mind would allow a person to truly experience rest and peace in the midst of daily living.
There are many people today who are weary and heavy burdened simply because enough is never enough. I once heard someone say that its not the having that drives them, but the pursuit of the possibilities of what they don't have. Much of today's marketing employs something similar to this testimony. Businesses today work tirelessly to make you dissatisfied with what you have in order for you to lust after their new and improved products.
Oh how Jesus longs to give us rest and peace if only we would forsake our envy, lust and pride. I believe that much of the fracturing of social institutions like the family and marriage would cease if we would merely learn to be content.
Solomon continually drives this point home. In fact, in chapter 5, verses 19-20 of Ecclesiastes Solomon has this to say:
"To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life--this is indeed a gift from God. People who do this rarely look with sorrow on the past, for God has given them reasons for joy." (NLT)
Solomon approaches this from many different angles throughout this book of wisdom--health, family, stress, but ultimately the message boils down to this:
Be Content
Enjoy the life that God has given you. Eat, drink, enjoy the company of good friends. Put your all into the work your hands find to do and in your effort, find enjoyment. The Apostle Paul even instructs his apprentice Timothy that apart from contentment, even a life of godliness won't seem to be enough. Yet when accompanied by a satisfied heart and mind, a life of holiness truly brings life to our spirits.
So I guess if we truly want to find satisfaction in life we don't have to look anywhere else than to what God has already blessed us with. In the end, this is the only way to get more out of life without living to get more...
Shalom my friends,
Pastor Jeremy
"...godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment." (1 Tim. 6:21 NASB)
Contentment. Enjoying what we have without comparison to neighbors, friends, co-workers, or family. It would seem that that this disposition of the heart and mind would allow a person to truly experience rest and peace in the midst of daily living.
There are many people today who are weary and heavy burdened simply because enough is never enough. I once heard someone say that its not the having that drives them, but the pursuit of the possibilities of what they don't have. Much of today's marketing employs something similar to this testimony. Businesses today work tirelessly to make you dissatisfied with what you have in order for you to lust after their new and improved products.
Oh how Jesus longs to give us rest and peace if only we would forsake our envy, lust and pride. I believe that much of the fracturing of social institutions like the family and marriage would cease if we would merely learn to be content.
Solomon continually drives this point home. In fact, in chapter 5, verses 19-20 of Ecclesiastes Solomon has this to say:
"To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life--this is indeed a gift from God. People who do this rarely look with sorrow on the past, for God has given them reasons for joy." (NLT)
Solomon approaches this from many different angles throughout this book of wisdom--health, family, stress, but ultimately the message boils down to this:
Be Content
Enjoy the life that God has given you. Eat, drink, enjoy the company of good friends. Put your all into the work your hands find to do and in your effort, find enjoyment. The Apostle Paul even instructs his apprentice Timothy that apart from contentment, even a life of godliness won't seem to be enough. Yet when accompanied by a satisfied heart and mind, a life of holiness truly brings life to our spirits.
So I guess if we truly want to find satisfaction in life we don't have to look anywhere else than to what God has already blessed us with. In the end, this is the only way to get more out of life without living to get more...
Shalom my friends,
Pastor Jeremy
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