How many times have you said,
“If I just had more money?” or “If I just had that House.”
of “If I just had that job, I would be happy”. ?? While it is human
nature to want a better situation, it is not natural to be unhappy until you
get it. Adam and Eve had a wonderful situation. They had happiness, no
illness, the most beautiful rivers called the Tigris and the Euphrates, fertile
soil, and all the food they would ever need. There was one thing that they
could not have, and that was the fruit on the Tree of Knowledge of Good and
Evil. It was beautiful fruit, but they had other beautiful fruit.
But the serpent created the thought of discontentment. He told them that
if they ate of it, they would see the same things that God saw. We live
in a world where people struggle to be content. One man wants another
wife, so he leaves his family. A woman wants a nicer outfit, so she lifts
it from the department store. Someone else wants more money so he commits
fraud on the job to get ahead. It’s all a result of not finding
contentment in our lives. Paul said in Philippians 4:11 that he had learned that
whatever state he is in, that he has found contentment. While I have not
mastered it, I do find that the older I get, the more content I am. Not that I
have more, but I have changed my perspective. I do not know one person
that has achieved happiness by acquiring more stuff or putting more money in
the bank. Contentment comes from a state of mind that the most important
things in this life are of a spiritual nature. When and only when, we realize
this, will we live a life of contentment.
Action Item: Make a mental list of the most important people in your
life and do something special for them today, even if it is a simple call to
tell them how important they are to you.