“Godliness with contentment is a great gain.” 1 Timothy 6: 6 NIV.
The important things in life are not things.
My thoughts and comments today are about, “more seems never enough.”
When is enough, enough? It is important that you answer honestly and accurately to counteract a latent insecurity and subtle greed in your thoughts and emotions that conflict with your pursuit of contentment. Enough seems ultimately insatiable. When you acquire enough necessities, the seeds of greed suggest that a little more never hurts. So begins a vicious cycle of trying to have enough yet always wanting more.
And the result? A quest for more steals the joy for what you have and dampens your thankfulness for what you have been given. Striving to accumulate and store away more becomes an insufficient and exhausting goal for a satisfied life. Such an inadequate, material goal only distracts your heart from seeking true wealth, which is spiritual as well as material. Jesus said, “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Read Matthew 6:20-21 NKJV. Better to have the best of what lasts, than simply more of what’s merely good for now.
Epicurus, an ancient, Greek philosopher wrote, “Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little.” (341-270 BC). Solomon, the richest and wisest of men, learned, “A man’s eyes are never satisfied.” Proverbs 27:20 NKJV. More seems never enough. My friend and spiritual mentor, Campbell, advised me years ago, “The heart cannot desire what the eye has not seen.” Be selective about what holds your gaze too long, lest it fills your vision and captures your desire. When needs are replaced by wants, you are vulnerable to the bitter taste of unhappiness, ingratitude, and dissatisfaction.
Having enough produces contentment, sufficiency, satisfaction, and exemption from the ruthless tyranny of always needing a little more. Those are things money cannot buy. Paul’s counsel to young Timothy remains true, “Godliness with contentment is a great gain.” Read 1 Timothy 6: 6-12 NIV. God offers you a greater, more enduring return than the biggest bull market on Wall Street. When the things you have are not enough, neither will be more of the same. I have learned a simple, invaluable truth, “The important things in life are not things.” The truly important, irreplaceable possessions are your faith in God, family, friends, a good name, adequate resources, and success with satisfaction.
“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances . . I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation . . through Him Who gives me strength.” Read Philippians 4:11-13 NIV. Neither favorable circumstance nor ample possessions provide true security and contentment. Those are found in God alone.
Today, I pray for you to trust God as your only true Source, supply, and sufficiency.
Christian Communications 2016
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