One of the greatest enemies of contentment is comparison. We live in a house, but looking around at the houses of others and wishing our house was bigger, better maintained, nicer, etc. makes for discontentment. It’s always wrong to compare what we have with what others have. God calls it “coveting” and it’s a sin. Whatever I have is a gift from God, and it is enough.
I cannot truthfully say that I am “untouched by trouble” but I can say that I can rest contented at the end of each day. I know that God is in charge of my life, so that leads me to believe that nothing touches me unless it goes through His filter first. He doesn’t CAUSE things to happen in our lives but He does allow them so that we can grow to be more like Jesus. Thus, my health issues are my opportunity to see more health workers and testify about the goodness and grace of God.
As the joke goes, hearses are never followed by a U-Haul truck. What we have is God’s gift to us…food, clothing, children, grandchildren, all things we have. So instead of wishing for more or better things, we need to be grateful for what we have and realize that we have more than many. It always amazes me to see the children in a third world nation playing in muddy streets with an old ball that is barely inflated. But you know what? They are happy…smiling, laughing and enjoying what they have. That mental image reminds me that I can be happy with little because I have the greatest gift of all, eternal life through the Son of God.
Do you know other enemies of contentment? Share them in the comments. And thank you for reading. God bless you.
There were many years I lived with the discontentment of comparing. Every time we would come home on furlough from several years serving overseas I faced that envy of wanting what others had. Each house we got invited to for a meal was a time for me to want what they had, or better yet I just wished I had it overseas. It did not cause me to want to give up our ministry but money was always tight and we always had to be aware of what others thought about us so having a lot was out of the question. Lots of missionaries had more support then we did so the had much more or was able to do much more, take more breaks, etc. It really matters not where one lives comparing is a danger. We were rich in comparison to the people who lived in remote place and lived very primate lives. As I say, it matters not where, or what comparing is a heart issue. it showed I was not grateful for what we did have. It was quite a wake up call for me to admit the reason for my discontentment. God was so long suffering with me teaching me to be grateful, teaching me to be content with whatever and where ever He placed us. Great reminder of contentment and what our focus needs to be on instead of coveting others lives. Blessings
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God bless you, Vickie.
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