Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Are you content?

Heb 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.

If you have a sweet tooth, you're probably familiar with the power of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. The scent of them cooking fills the entire house. When they are finally done you (I) don't wait the recommended time for cooling and have to eat one right out of the oven. For the time it takes you to eat that cookie (not as long as you would imagine) you are content. But when it is gone you desire another and another,etc. If you give in to that at some point:

a. there are no more cookies
b. you are overfull and
c. you wish you wouldn't have eaten so many cookies

To much of a good thing is not good. Contentment is an invisible line between I need and I want.

No matter what it is, a cookie hot from the oven, a better job, a bigger house, identifying that line begins with a heart check. A heart that is filled with gratitude for God's daily blessings is less likely to long for mere wants which do not have the ability to provide deep, lasting satisfaction.

James 1:7 Every good and perfect gift is from above.

These are the kind of gifts that are longed for by the heart, not the eyes. These gifts nurture both thankfulness and contentment.

If you can be happy with "enough" you have the power to simplify your life. You will find it easier to declutter your home if you need to. You won't compare your life to those around you. And you will appreciate and take better care of the things that you do have.

A contented life begins with a thankful heart. Spend time every day thanking God for all He's given you and be content with that.

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