Learning To Be Content


"Well-being is a full stomach, a time for prayer, and a bamboo platform to sleep on." -A poor woman in Bangladesh

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I love Thanksgiving, and it's definitely my favorite holiday. This year we downsized considerably. This meant having to take time to evaluate most of our possessions as we decided what to keep and what had to go. A lot was given away, a lot was sold, and a lot was simply discarded. Even after this I recognize we still possess far more than most of earth's inhabitants.

One of the challenging things of living in a western culture is that we are constantly presented with the fallacy we need more stuff. We're marketed to by being told we need things we don't need at all, or simply that we deserve it. If we aren't careful we fall for the lie that if we don't possess what most of the world would consider to be absolute luxury we're somehow missing out. Such an attitude creates a spirit of discontentment within us, even when we have all we need and then some.

"But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that." I Timothy 6:8

But would I be? I want to be. Would I not only be content, but also be grateful?

"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." Philippians 4:12

This morning an elderly woman I've known for many years called me. She lives off of a small social security check in a subsidized building for senior citizens. She doesn't have a car, only owns a few simple things, and is dependent on others to get by. She didn't call me to complain. She called to give thanks. She spoke of her family, and used words like "blessed," to describe them. She reminds me of the poor woman from Bangladesh. She challenges me, as she models Christlikeness while humbly living her life.

Helen Keller once said, "I cried because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet."

Let's give thanks today from contented hearts Let's try to live that way all year. Let's resist the lie that we need more things in order to really be happy. 

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." Psalm 107:1

Happy Thanksgiving!
James A Williams



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