From Gary... Before contentment

Something about this picture reminds me of Niles Crane- you know, that whacky brother from the series Frasier.  But, unlike Niles, this little one simply exudes contentment and a gentle happiness. Freedom from concern, a lack of problems, feeling fine would also seem to apply.  Somehow the Simon and Garfunkel song reverberates again and again... slow down you move to fast, you got to make the morning last, kicking down the cobblestones, looking for fun and feeling GROOVY!!!

Then, my thoughts turned once again to the Scriptures and from a brief search these passages seemed to make an impression...

Proverbs, Chapter 19 (WEB)

 23 The fear of Yahweh leads to life, then contentment;
he rests and will not be touched by trouble.

Matthew, Chapter 5 (WEB)

  3  “Blessed are the poor in spirit, 
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. 
  4  Blessed are those who mourn, 
for they shall be comforted. 
  5  Blessed are the gentle, 
for they shall inherit the earth. 
  6  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, 
for they shall be filled. 
  7  Blessed are the merciful, 
for they shall obtain mercy. 
  8  Blessed are the pure in heart, 
for they shall see God. 
  9  Blessed are the peacemakers, 
for they shall be called children of God. 
  10  Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, 
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. 

  11  “Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake.   12  Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

1 Timothy, Chapter 6

 6  But godliness with contentment is great gain.  7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we certainly can’t carry anything out. 8 But having food and clothing, we will be content with that.  9 But those who are determined to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful lusts, such as drown men in ruin and destruction.  10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Hebrews, Chapter 13

 5  Be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have, for he has said, “I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you.”  6 So that with good courage we say, 
“The Lord is my helper. I will not fear.
What can man do to me?”

There seems to be just too much material here to do it justice, but perhaps a thought or two might just be enough to be a springboard for further study. The best place to begin is within yourself: Are you happy and truly content with the life you live or do you just endure it? Is there meaning and purpose to the way you live, or do you just exist? Do your possessions fulfill all your needs? And probably the most telling of all- DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH MONEY??? 

If you answered no to the above, I have an alternative. Look outside yourself to find yourself and let God supply what is lacking. He will guide you to genuine life based on his principles for living. First, I suggest reading and rereading that little verse from Proverbs, chapter 19. Life (with God) comes first and THEN CONTENTMENT and THEN HAPPINESS (Matthew chapter 5).

You can't buy it with money, you can't make it with your own two little hands and you can't borrow it from the richest person on earth.  But, the good news is that God gives it away freely. The proof is- Jesus was raised from the grave to give you another chance for true life. Interested? Today, read the second chapter of the book of Acts and take it from there.  Questions are allowed....