Contentment

     We all like to be entertained, and theirs nothing wrong with that. Enjoying your favorite book or TV show or video game is a great way to unwind and relax after a long day. Unfortunately we've made relaxation and entertainment a life's pursuit these days and that perspective has affected the rest of our experience.

     This thought came to me when I was listening to some old songs I hadn't heard for a long time and I picked up on a line that said “I'm alone and the world is having more fun than me.” I thought about how odd that line is and then it hit me. So many of us spend our lives in the dread fear that someone, somewhere, somehow is having more fun that we are. That we are missing out on enjoyment that we should be rightfully experiencing! It occurred to me that not only is this a terrible waste of our time, to be worrying about missed fun, but its also a sneaky way to let covetousness and discontent into our lives and our thoughts.

     Covetousness is a similar to greed in that we want something we don't have but it says more than I want. It says I want what you have and possibly that I should have it -instead- of you. I think it's a huge problem in our modern world, we can't just be happy for the things others have. It seems like more and more the first reaction to seeing that others have more than we do is to ask why do they have that and I don't? We mask it as dreaming for the future or in terms of Capitalism or whatever but its really nothing more than selfishness and wanting what other people have. Really that's what it all comes down to, selfishness and pride. As I've said before, the ultimate fountainhead of sin is pride. God would have us live our lives for others but our pride wants to make us the center of thought and attention.

     Similar to Covetousness is discontent. Actually the two are inseparable and serve to fuel the fire that burns in them both. To be discontent is, obviously, to not be happy with what you have. This can be a good thing when striving to do your best but the real essence of the term is to be almost angry about what you think you deserve but don't have. The Christian needs to understand that everything they have from first breath to that new job is a gift from God. Furthermore, every decision God makes is for the absolute best so if we don't have something there's a good reason for it! When we allow ourselves to wallow in discontent we are really challenging God's decisions for our lives and of course this just serves to encourage our covetousness. If we're not happy and thankful for the things we have we will turn desiring eyes onto the things of others.

     What we have on this earth is temporary whether its objects or relationships or employment. We need to ask God to give us a contented spirit that will remain thankful for even the little things. Only then will be on the right path to avoiding greed and covetousness and discontent. These things can rot your life and your relationships. Take care today to thank God for what you have and learn to be happy with what you have. You may just find that being thankful for a little will lead you to a lot more.

“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

(Hebrews 13:5)

'The' Original Sin

     Sin. The thing that separates us from God. We were created as perfect beings, way back when.  In the days of Adam and Eve they were without fault and in perfect communion with God and each other. They had no reason to be ashamed of who and what they were and all was right and at peace, until sin. Until the day that Eve was deceived by the serpent and Adam chose what he knew was wrong, all was as it should be. No longer. Now we live separated from God by sin, in this world tainted by sin, in bodies ravaged by sin, and doomed to death caused by sin. We cannot escape it.

     What would you say is the worst of sin? If asked by a stranger which of the many instances and examples of sin was the supreme example of its evil, what would you say? Perhaps murder, with so many lives having been ended by it; millions of people removed from this life and cut down far before their term in life 'should be' complete. How about theft? Every day and in a million different places people take what is not theirs and leave others without. In many instances this leaves the robbed desolate, as what was taken was precious and the one from whom it was taken had little to begin with. Maybe lying, since it's a destruction or a distortion of the truth? How many lives have been hurt or destroyed by a lie believed? You might even think blasphemy, after all what could be worse than spitting in the face of God?

     While all of these are good suggestions, and I am sure you could think of a hundred more, I would personally suggest pride as the true origin of sin. How is pride so awful? How often are we told in scripture to think of others and how often are the selfless held up as examples? How often are we commanded to show deference to God and be thankful for what we have? Pride is what tells us that others matter less than ourselves or that they don't even matter at all. Pride puts self first and others, a distant second. Pride screams ME, when God says others. Pride is the heart of every sin. The murderer puts his desire to kill over the the right of another to live, the thief puts her desire to have over the rightful ownership of another, and the blasphemer puts his own authority in place of God's.

"How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.”

(Isaiah 14:12-15)

     When we stop putting others first and especially when we push God out of His proper place, we open ourselves to a whole world of trouble. How difficult is it to love someone when they aren't fulfilling your conditions? How hard is it to forgive someone when all you care about is your own hurt? Pride is relentless. When you think you've beaten it, when you think you've really gotten it licked, that is the moment you'll find that it has appeared again. In my own life I find it so easy for pride to get a foothold. When you scoff at someone for not knowing something, when you're angry at someone for inconveniencing you, don't you see how that's all pride?

“Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble.”

(Proverbs 3:34)

“When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.”

(Proverbs 11:2)

     God wants us to love others, even our enemies, and to think of them first. Like the good Samaritan we are to seek the good of those around us even when no one else is willing to help. Let us all pray for a selfless spirit and a heart that fights against destructive pride. If you work on being happy with what you have and remembering that you are just another sinner saved by God's grace alone, you'll find that the faults in others don't bother you as they used to and that your time is worth less to you. Pride is the opposite of humility and the enemy of a righteous soul.

“A man's pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor.”

(Proverbs 29:23)

“But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: 'God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.'"

(James 4:6)