Contentment: March 22, 2010

MARCH 22. TODAYS WORD FOR MONDAY MARCH 22, 2010.

CONTENTMENT

DEFINITION:

Satisfied; easy in mind; happy; not wanting more or anything else.

SCRIPTURE:

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have. Hebrews 13:5.

“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have.” Hebrews 13:5.

“Now Godliness with contentment is great gain.” I Timothy 6:6.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

When our children were small babies they let us know when they weren’t feeling content, which was often in the middle of the night. After they had been fed and changed, their faces showed true contentment. As they became older it wasn’t as easy to satisfy their contentment needs as every parent finds out. Just try taking something from a toddler that they want but should not have and they will not be happy about it.

Their normally sweet faces will not show contentment. A child’s contentment is based on getting their way and getting what they want. This is true not only for children but for adults as well. We all have heard people say; “if only I had this or if I could do that” they would be happy and content. Yet so often those that seem to have everything are the least content.

The Apostle Paul was driven by a desire for excellence in his relationship with Christ. In Philippians 3:7-14 Paul tells us that the things that were considered gain for him, he has counted as loss for Christ. Anything that hindered Paul’s relationship with Christ had no value to him. Paul taught us that as believers we need a balance in our lives of never being satisfied with our spiritual progress and being content in Christ. He understood what true contentment is. His contentment did not come from what he had or what his circumstances were.

In Philippians 4:11 Paul expressed, while he was in prison, that he was content in all circumstances because his contentment wasn’t founded on whether he was living with plenty or in want. Paul was never complacent or satisfied with his own spiritual growth. He clearly stated that he had not counted himself to have “apprehended” (to have arrived and achieved it all). Instead he was committed to pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

What gives you contentment in your life? It seems that if one has a job, a home, a few friends and can pay the bills, he is content in life. This is the way so many people live today. But true contentment is different, as the Apostle Paul tells, us as we have written above.

Are you growing spiritually every day? You can only grow spiritually by spending time reading the Bible and then praying. This is your communication with God. Communication is a two way street. You need to talk to God (prayer) and God needs to talk to you (through the Bible). If you are growing spiritually each day it will be noticed in your “FRUITS.” Are you improving in your kindness, ability to love, helping others, and sharing the good news of the gospel with those you meet daily? If this is not happening in your life think about Paul’s message to us. We need to be content with what we have because our contentment comes from our relationship with Jesus Christ. But we will find greater contentment if we keep pressing on to know Christ better. The better we know Him the more He will be able to use us.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Joshua 24:15.

Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, but for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

PRAYER:

Thank You for the contentment that I can experience in my life when I communicate daily with You and put my complete trust in You. Help me to be a witness to those I meet today so that they may see Christ through me. Give each member of my family the same contentment that I have in my life.