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.