The older I get the more I notice how much STUFF we have and...how much more STUFF we want, as a society. We have tons more that we did 20 or so years ago, but....we still want more. Kids have more toys, adults have more toys! We have bigger houses, more cars and take vacations on planes instead of in a trailer. And yet...we are not content.
The Internet has added a whole other arena of creating wants. Kids no longer have to wait for parents to go shopping, they can do it from home. Creating lusts for all the world has to offer. Every year at this time, we are bombarded with ads, coupons and specials. All, so we can go out and buy more but, is more...the answer?
I've had less in my life and I have had more, but neither one is what has brought me true joy, contentment. Some of my most creative days, were when I was poorer. On the other hand, having more money was really nice. I enjoyed not worrying about paying bills. But I was both happy and sad, tired and stressed, etc. Spiders make webs in mansions as well as shacks.
Wanting not only includes material things, but relationships, fame and even substances. All which we crave to fill ourselves...to make us happy.
Look around you, at wealthy people, at the famous at people who used substances to bring peace and contentment to their hearts. Does it work? Ha...of course not.
Define contentment: "Contentment" seems realistically defined as "enjoyment of whatever may be desired." That definition is realistic because the more contented an individual or community becomes the less extreme so more acceptable their desires will be.
Contentment is not about what you HAVE but what your WANT.
Are you content? If not, then your desires are wrong. Ha, bold statement I know, but...it's not mine. I'm just repeating it. Psalms 37:4 says: Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
When I was a new Christian I believed that God would give me all that I desired if I delighted in him. I soon realized that was not what this verse meant. Let me say it simply...If we find our delight in God...our desires will change. We will no longer desire with lust new material things, relationships or substances to fulfill us. God will fulfill us. It's not that we can't have what we desire...we just desire the wrong things.
I wrote a drama once that depicted a young girl. She was lonely and thought a relationship would make her happy. She got a boyfriend, but... that didn't fulfill her. So she got married and then of course...she was not content. So she had a baby. Ugh...well we all know married people and parents that are still lonely, still wanting, still not content. We all see rich people who are miserable. So, we know that what this world has to offer...does not fill us up. These are the desires that leave us empty!
This is a great time of year to ask yourself...What do you desire? Are you content? The things of this world can be wonderful, exciting and fulfilling, but they can never feed the eternal soul that God created.
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