Skip to main content

Everybody That Is Something Wants To Be Something Else



Actors start a band. Athletes release an album. Singers try to act. Ever notice no matter how good somebody is at something they always try to get into something else. Radio guys want to be on TV.  TV guys start a radio program.  Speakers try to write. Writers want to speak. Directors want to act. Actors want to direct.  Why can’t we be satisfied with where we are at?
 
  One of the most difficult things for people is to find contentment. Don’t think that contentment only comes is completion. One can achieve everything they want to achieve and it won't be enough. The more you get the more you want.  Many find that even when they are able to go further than they ever dreamed, it is still not enough. They are not satisfied, so they go in search of something else. But contentment is not found in consuming.

   Paul give us the secret to finding satisfaction in Philippians 4:11-13:
Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.  I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Contentment isn't in having enough. It isn't in depriving yourself.  It comes from knowing that in whatever you find yourself, God will take care of you! I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

  Over the years I have seen this verse misapplied by many as a positive thinking mantra. I can have, achieve, get whatever I want because of Christ. But that attitude misses the entire point. Paul says it doesn't matter what you have or don't have. It is not  that you feel successful or are a total failure. It is an understanding that what I have in Christ is more valuable than any earthly achievement. Contentment means that what goes on here is only as important it relates to eternity.


  If we keep running after the things of this world we will never find true contentment. They will always be out of reach. They will never satisfy. The only true meaning come in trusting in God and knowing that he makes things matter.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Gift You Give Yourself

    I always hated buying gifts for my Mom. If I got her something like a new set of pans, it was like saying “Here’s something you can use to go make me something to eat”. A gift for her was seemingly a gift for me.   There are however gifts you give that benefit you more than the receiver. For example, forgiveness. When you give it, you are giving it to yourself as much as you are giving it to them. Jesus said that when we forgive others it means God is forgiving us our wrongs (Matthew 6:14-15).  I once read: “ Heaven is where everyone's forgiven. Hell is where nobody's forgiven.  So, when we forgive we pull heaven down into our lives.  When we withhold forgiveness, we pull hell up into our lives ” Give yourself something nice today, Forgive.
Post a Comment
Read more

Desire

  Is it wrong to want something? I guess it depends on what we want.   The Greek language had a word ‘ orego ’ that meant “to stretch oneself out in order to touch or grasp something, often used metaphorically to denote a strong desire or aspiration for something”. Paul uses this word in 1st Timothy as a good thing (to be an elder 3:1) and a bad thing (longing for money 6:10).   Our desires oftentimes define who we are. They motivate us to action. They are the focus of our minds and actions.  And they can be both good and bad.  Sometimes we want something better and we run over people to get it. Sometimes, we want something better so we will strive to improve ourselves.  Sometimes we see people with nothing they want and we envy them. Other people will see with no desire and we pity them.  We need to desire good things. Be willing to work to get them. Care enough to try.  We need to not desire bad things. Be willing to forgo o...
Post a Comment
Read more

Until Midnight

    In Acts 20, there is the tragicomic event surrounding a young man by the name of Eutychus. He did what a lot of folks before and after him did, he fell asleep during a sermon. Unfortunately, he was setting in in the third story window at the time. So instead of nodding off and hitting the pew in front of him, he fell to his death. The good news was the apostle Paul was delivering the sermon and had the ability to bring him back.       I don’t know, however, if we can judge Eutychus too harshly. The sermon had gone on till midnight. Paul wouldn’t finish it up till daybreak. That’s a long lesson. I know some folks that might want to jump out of a window if I had a lesson that long, yet these Christians wanted to be there to hear Paul.   Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pushing for all night sermons but I think we might need to adopt these folks' dedication. They knew that Paul was only in town for a limited time only and they were determined to ...
Post a Comment
Read more