A Thought For The Week Of May 5

Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. (Philippians 4:11) There's an interesting life lesson here. Too often, we decide that we have to measure our ability to be happy on the basis of how much we have, or we decide that we're not happy because we don't have something that we really want. Let's be honest. We all do that from time to time in various aspects of our lives. But sometimes there's great contentment in learning simply to be satisfied with whatever we have. Over my years as a pastor, I've had the opportunity to talk to many people who grew up during the Great Depression. One common theme that runs through the stories I've been told is that as children, these folks were quite content, even though they were growing up in hard times and didn't have very much of anything. They didn't know anything else, and they were grateful for what they had. Many continue in that spirit of gratitude all their lives, but for those who grow up in an environment where there's always plenty – and where there's always plenty more to have – contentment can be a hard thing to achieve. In Philippians, Paul wrote that he had “ learned to be content with whatever [he had.] Whether he had a lot of whether he had very little. Paul had learned how to be content. I believe his contentment came from his rock-solid relationship with God. He grasped for nothing, gratefully accepted what he received, and so was content with everything he had. We don't need great abundance in anything. We don't need the newest this or the latest that. We need the contentment that comes from knowing that God is with us and will always be there for us. Have a great week!